Road work signs have gone up in the area around County Farm Road, U.S. Highway 84/Knox Road/New School Road in anticipation of a construction and improvement project slated to begin in November.
Jill Nagel, public information officer with the Georgia Department of Transportation, said last week work should begin in the next couple of weeks.
East Coast Asphalt is the contractor on the $4.35 million project. The work is expected to take almost a year to complete. Current completion date is projected for August, 2025.
“The first construction activities will begin with clearing and grubbing and utility relocations,” said Nagel.
Nagel also pointed out the construction work will not interfere with school traffic.
“It is included in the contract. The contractor is not allowed to install lane closures, pace traffic or move equipment or materials that interferes with traffic between the hours of 7 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday while Pierce County schools are in session,” she said.
Plans call for three intersection improvements along U.S. Highway 84 between County Farm Road and Owens Crossing.
A new road, Shiloh Road Extension, would be constructed from U.S. Highway 84, across to County Farm Road behind the United Market to tie in with the existing intersection of County Farm Road and Shiloh Road.
A second northbound lane would be constructed on County Farm Road from Shiloh Road to the entrance driveway of Pierce County Middle School.
In additional phases, the project would add a center two-way left-turn lane to U.S. Highway 84 between County Farm Road and Knox Road and an additional turn lane at New School Road/Owens Road.
Due to its proximity to both the high school and middle school and United Market and the the Dollar General stores the area features high traffic flow. All three areas have been the site of 60 accidents and two fatalities in recent years.
The improvements would improve traffic flow and safety at these intersections by separating turning traffic from the higher speed through traffic on U.S. Highway 84.
The project will be funded as part of the Transportation Investment Act (TIA).
The Southern Georgia Region, including Pierce and 17 other counties in the area, approved a 10-year one percent sales tax to fund regional and local transportation improvements. The Southern Georgia Region passed the sales tax in 2018.
TIA projects are funded using the regional sales tax.
A three-phase road improvement and construction project on U.S. Highway 84 is slated to begin in November Graphics courtesy Google maps and the Georgia Department of Transportation.
