$4M Road Improvement Plan Could Reduce Austell Traffic

Austell residents may soon see traffic reduced if a road-improvement plan is approved for state Route 6, (C. H. James Parkway), between Interstate 20 and Dr. Luke Glenn Garrett Jr. Memorial Highway.

On Wednesday at the , about 13 people attended an open house  regarding the conceptual blueprint for a project that would create special lanes for trucks and would install various traffic indicators.

The concept would require Cobb and Douglas counties to work together along with Norfolk Southern Railway and the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT). The idea of the development plan is to enhance the six-mile corridor for both drivers and freight traffic by creating truck-friendly lanes and enabling the separation of trucks from smaller vehicles. 

Various forms of signal operations will be installed throughout the traffic lights as well as motion sensors in order to accommodate the needs of the freighters and to ensure the safety of the tens of thousands of vehicles that use these roads on a daily basis.

Richard Fangmann, director of transportation planning for Pond & Company, an architectural and engineering consulting firm, said that this project will be significant, considering the high volume of traffic and the various times that it occurs throughout the day.

According to Fangmann, the intitial estimated budget for the project would be between $3million and $4 million for the entire six-mile stretch.  He said the traffic indicators would be much cheaper and more efficient than simply widening roads. Road widening alone would cost $3 million to $4 million per mile.

“We are looking at new technology such as motion sensors along the corridors that will react to the volume of trucks,” Fangmann said.

In addition, Fangmann said that the sensors and signal-timing systems would enhance the safety of all drivers by eliminating the dilemma zone, which is the two to five second window of hesitation every driver has when the traffic signal turns yellow. 

"The goal is to use this new technology as efficiently as possible," Fangmann later said in a phone interview.  "This is a project that would help with or without road widening."