GDOT Planning Construction Of Passing Lanes On SR 15 In Southern Oconee County, Development Authority Told

Construction of passing lanes on SR 15 in both Oconee and Greene counties is on the list for conceptual planning with the Georgia Department of Transportation, Rep. Chuck Williams told members of the Oconee County Industrial Development Authority last week.

Williams said he has been working with Rep. Trey Rhodes of Greensboro on the project, made possible because of funds raised by the increase in fuel taxes and imposition of a hotel tax by the General Assembly in the 2015 session.

“We’ve got that in the GDOT pipeline now,” Williams said of the SR 15 project. Funding should be available in the next fiscal year, he said, and the project could be completed in the "next couple of years."

Williams also stated that the master plan for the widening of U.S. 441 calls for four lanes and left little doubt that he expects the route in Oconee County, including a bypass of Bishop, to be four-lanes as well.

GDOT officials have stated in three meetings going back to late December that the plans for the road have not been settled and that a three-lane design is a possibility.

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

Pictured, left to right, J.R. Charles, Janet Jones, Rep. Chuck Williams.