Construction of an alternate route in and out of the Oak Ridge Trail/Farr’s Community should begin sometime in 2025.
County Manager Raphel Maddox made that announcement at last Tuesday’s commission meeting.
Maddox commended Ann Purcell, Pierce County’s district representative on the Georgia Department of Transportation’s (GDOT) State Board and County Attorney Adam Craft for their work on the project.
Purcell helped to secure funding for the project and Craft has been working to secure needed rights-of-way parcels for the new road.
GDOT announced in July it was awarding the county a Local Maintenance Improvement/Local Road Assistance (LMIG/LRA) Grant for the project. The county received $1,039,145.39 in LMIG/LRA funds.
County officials will be going to Atlanta during the General Assembly in January to finalize the funding for the work.
The project will include paving and other improvements to seven tenths of a mile of roadway parallel to the railroad along Timber Lane and Screven Avenue. The new route will access the community from the Midway Church Road near Ace Pole Company.
Commissioners have been trying for several years to find an alternative exit for residents in the community. There is currently only one way in and out of the area via the railroad crossing on Oak Ridge Trail. Access and exit are already a problem since trains routinely block the crossing — sometimes for more than an hour — waiting to get into Rice Yard in Waycross.
