GDOT Showed Plans For Truck Bypass Of Bishop To Citizen Committee

The Georgia Department of Transportation rolled out its plans for a truck bypass of Bishop as part of its upgrade of U.S. 441 to a generally receptive Oconee County Citizen Advisory Committee Monday night at Oconee Veterans Park.

The plans were unchanged from those previewed to the Bishop City Council last week and call for a close-in, two-lane truck bypass on the east side of Bishop that would begin at Astondale Road on the south and reconnect with U.S. 441 on the north at High Shoals Road.

The meeting was GDOT’s opportunity to present the plans to its Citizens Advisory Committee, but the small room at the Community Center in Oconee Veterans Park was full beyond capacity with others interested in the project at the 5 p.m. start time.

Project Manager Bruce G. Anderson Jr. initially told the audience that the meeting was held to get feedback from the Citizen Advisory Committee and that the audience would not be allowed to ask questions.

As the meeting progressed, Anderson allowed questions from an audience that generally seemed less supportive of the plans than the Citizen Advisory Committee members seated around the table.

For more on the story, with a map of the new route and a video of the meeting, go to Oconee County Observations.

Pictured: Citizen Advisory Committee Around Table.