Henry County is seeking a design engineer for the Hampton-Locust Grove Road widening project. The Request for Qualifications (RFQ) is the latest in a series of design proposals since January. SPLOST VI will pay for the design contract.
Hampton-Locust Grove Road Widening Design RFQ
Henry County published the Hampton-Locust Grove Road Widening Design RFQ on March 10, 2025. Interested engineering firms have until Monday, April 7, to respond. Afterwards, the county staff will review the materials received. Staff can then recommend a contract award to the board of commissioners.
Right now, Hampton-Locust Grove Road is a two-lane road. The widening project would expand the road to a four-lane divided highway. The project extends between State Route 20 and State Route 155. This is a distance of about five miles. In addition, a signature aspect would be a new bridge over the Towaliga River. Lastly, sidewalks would be included within the project.
SPLOST VI, approved by voters in November 2024, budgeted $6.9 million towards Hampton-Locust Grove Road. These funds will pay for design work & partial right of way costs. Additional funding to fully fund right of way and construction would be through a future funding source. For perspective, construction for road widening projects is costing, on average, $20 million per mile. As such, the Hampton-Locust Grove Road widening will likely cost over $100 million before the project is complete.
Because the project is not fully funded, a timeframe for construction is TBD.
Other Widening Projects
Two other road widening projects within the immediate vicinity are the Bill Gardner Parkway widening and State Route 155 widening.
The Bill Gardner Parkway widening extends between I-75 in Locust Grove and State Route 155. The project is presently buying right of way. Its funding is coming from Henry County Transportation SPLOST. Voters approved the inaugural T-SPLOST in November 2021.
Widening State Route 155 is a Georgia DOT project. The state has two phases to that work. Phase 1 is from I-75 to SR 42 towards McDonough. The southern half of SR 155, from I-75 to Luella, is phase 2. Presently, Georgia DOT is estimating construction to start in 2027 for phase 1 and 2030 for phase 2.
Finally, Georgia DOT will be constructing a new interstate exit near Bethlehem Road. That project will be hiring its design-build contractor this year. Shovels are then expected to start moving dirt towards the end of 2026. The latest cost estimate on that project totals $286 million.
Featured image shows a map of the Hampton-Locust Grove Road widening and other nearby road widening projects. Clayton Carte / The Henry Reporter map created with Datawrapper.
