Close In Bypass To Be Considered For SR 15/U.S. 441 Truck Route

The Georgia Department of Transportation will review possible routes just south of Watkinsville for a truck bypass to link SR 15 and U.S. 441.

Athens Mayor Kelly Girtz and Oconee County Board of Commissioners Chair John Daniell made fleeting references to close-in routes for a bypass at the Wednesday meeting of the MACORTS Policy Committee.

Daniell has confirmed that routes on the city’s south side are under review and that the routes may include property inside the city limits of Watkinsville itself.

Discussion of a bypass is in the very early stage, but the Policy Committee approved adding a scoping study of the bypass to its planning documents, a first step in launching review of possible routes.

Before the study can be added to the documents, however, citizen input is required.

The first public meeting on the addition of the scoping study to the MACORTS planning documents will be virtual from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 27 via WebEx. Citizens wishing to be informed of access can contact MACORTS.

The second will be in-person from 5 to 7 p.m. on Sept. 30 at Oconee Veterans Park, 3500 Hog Mountain Road, west of Butler’s Crossing.

For more on the story, please go to Oconee County Observations.