Route East of Bishop Selected As "Starting Point" For Study of U.S. 441 Bypass Options In Oconee County

The Madison Athens-Clarke Oconee Regional Transportation Study (MACORTS) Policy Committee on Wednesday morning is scheduled to formally add the four-laning of U.S. 441 from Watkinsville to the Apalachee River to the FY 2015– 2018 Transportation Improvement Program.

The action is a necessary step for the reactivation of the project, which includes a bypass of the city of Bishop.

The route of the bypass has not been decided, but Emil Beshara, Oconee County Public Works director, told the MACORTS Technical Coordinating Committee on June 24 that a route east of the city has been selected as one that will be used as a basis for initial study.

That route, identified as an option in earlier study of possible routes, goes through one farm on which two conservation easements are held as part of the county’s farmland protection program and a third designated for protection via the farmland program.

Beshara said after the June 24 meeting “that the route is not set in stone.” He added that “They needed a starting point, and they chose one particular alignment to use as a basis.”

For more on the story, and to download preliminary plans for the roadway, go to Oconee County Observations.