

The Georgia Department of Transportation invites residents to an upcoming open house to learn more about plans to widen state route 42 in downtown Locust Grove and provide their feedback. The project proposes to construct one additional southbound travel lane between Bill Gardner Parkway and Peeksville Road to address existing traffic congestion and improve roadway safety.
The meeting will be held on Thursday, November 7, at the Locust Grove Community Room located at 10 Cleveland Street, also known as the Locust Grove Recreation Center. The open house will be held between 5 pm and 7 pm and utilizes an open format where attendees may drop-in at any time and do not have to stay for the entire time period.
During the three-year period between September 2015 and September 2018, there were 119 crashes at the intersection of state route 42 and Bill Gardner Parkway. Of these, eighty-eight involved rear end collisions of vehicles in the right turn lane of Bill Gardner Parkway waiting to turn onto Georgia 42 south. This project aims to reduce that crash frequency by allowing for a dedicated free-flowing right turn lane between the two roadways.
The $3.5 million dollar project is scheduled to start right of way acquisition in March 2020 and budgeted for construction in FY 2023. Once construction starts, it’s estimated to take one year to complete.
The installation of a southbound travel lane is one component out of several projects underway by the city and state DOT to improve traffic flow in Locust Grove. In addition to the state-funded highway widening project, the city is funding the installation of a center median on Bill Gardner Parkway and roundabout at state route 42 and Bill Gardner. The two governments are also working together to advance new traffic signals along state route 42, including one at Marketplace Blvd.
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