Includes Rockaway Road realignment to traffic light

It should get worse before it gets better, but in the end it should be worth the wait. The project for the second phase of the widening of Ga. Highway 74 in west Fayette County is expected to be let in March and completed approximately two years later.

The bid for the second phase of widening, from the Cooper Circle area and extending south to Ga. Highway 85, is on track and expected to be awarded in March, according to Georgia Dept. of Transportation District Communications Officer Kimberly Larson. The cost of the 3.04-mile widening is approximately $29.7 million, Larson said.

The project includes turning two lanes into four with the addition of a raised median and paved shoulders. Also included in the project is the long-needed realignment of Rockaway Road. Once completed, the northernmost portion of Rockaway will be realigned to the west and intersect at the traffic light at Holly Grove Road, Larson said.

The realignment has been long anticipated and is expected to significantly help commuters in the morning as traffic can back up for some distance with Senoia residents waiting to turn left onto Hwy. 74 without a traffic light. On the weekends there are also traffic issues when the nearby youth sports fields are used.

The entire project is expected to take two years to complete, said Larson.

Phase II will begin shortly after the current widening project ends. That project completion date is Dec. 31.