Progress on the widening of Ga. Highway 54 in Peachtree City has taken place, but it pales in comparison to what's going on in Coweta County.

The contractor, E.R. Snell, has already built lanes in Coweta, and traffic is being shifted to the new lanes in some parts of the project. Not quite as much has occurred in Peachtree City, but that will change once utility relocation is complete in mid-January, officials said.

After that, dirt can begin to move on the Peachtree City side of the project, said David L. Coleman, District 3 Assistant Area Engineer for the Georgia Department of Transportation.

The main progress in Peachtree City has been on a key part of the CSX railroad bridge: the pedestrian culverts that will connect the city's golf cart path to The Avenue and the Marketplace shopping centers. When weather permits, the the culverts will be backfilled and the embankment for the new bridge over the CSX railroad track will be built, Coleman said.

The sub-contractor responsible for bridge construction will be on the site in late January to start building the first stages of the railroad bridge and the Line Creek bridge, Coleman added.

Both bridges will be completely rebuilt. The first half of each bridge will be built during the first stage of construction, and then traffic will be shifted to those bridges so the old ones can be removed to make way for the second half of the bridges, Coleman said.

The road widening project, which extends from Ga. Highway 74 all the way to Ga. Highway 34 going into Sharpsburg, will be finished by July 31, 2006 according to the $14.026 million contract E.R. Snell signed with the DOT.

So far, about 20 percent of the first stage of the project is complete, Coleman said.

Once all is said and done, the road will feature a wide median with enough room to add two more lanes of traffic in the future if ever deemed necessary, officials said.