Jodeco or I-75?
The Henry County Board of Commissioners has a tough decision to make. Do they support a new lane on I-75 or a ten lane bridge on Jodeco Road?:
The commissioners are being asked by the state Department of Transportation and Georgia Regional Transportation Authority to choose one of the two projects because state transportation officials fear there won’t be money for both. The agencies haven’t given the board a deadline for a decision, commissioners said.There are some new businesses on Jodeco Road. Traffic there is terrible, but it has been for a long time. I complained about it when driving to school at ELHS (1998 and 1999). Getting off the interstate in the evening is no easy task either. But widening I-75 may have more of an economic benefit depending on how far through the county it goes.
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In March, the Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to keep both projects in question on the Transportation Improvement Plan.“We passed a resolution to support the bridge. The state is going to look at us like we’re wishy-washy,” said District III Commissioner Randy Stamey. “We owe it to these people. That is the only bridge in Henry that isn’t six or 12 lanes,” said Stamey, who is sticking with the Jodeco project if the board is forced to choose.
You also have to ask yourself, by expanding Jodeco Road which commissioner's re-election this benefits and why they are making an issue out of it now.
It's not an easy decision. I think I'd pick I-75. What would you choose?
Comments
Jason,
As an outsider, I think you guys should go with I-75. It would alleviate much of the thru traffic and provide a little relief for you guys on Jodeco. If you only improve Jodeco, it seems like the bigger problem (alleviating thru traffic on 75) would still exist.
By "thru traffic", I mean cars just passing through the county.
Just my two cents.
Posted by: Jace Walden | July 17, 2007 07:35 AM
Let's raise the state income tax to 95% and hire workers to do both.
Posted by: FDR | July 17, 2007 08:01 AM
I attended the state DOT's presentation on the lane widening. To clarify the project is only to add one lane on each side of I-75 from I-675 to Eagle's Landing/Hudson Bridge. This is in hopes of alleviating the bottleneck that hits everyday during the rush hours. While it is a good idea, my opinion is that it won't go far enough. The extra lane is needed all the way through the county at least until you clear Exit 212. The state's plan also will not widen the two major restrictions (the Walt Stephens Bridge or the Flippen Bridge) So they will add the lanes by cutting down the median and the emergency lanes. Given the past history of I-75 drivers I am not sure that making the "safety areas" smaller will make things better. While I agree that I-75 is a more immediate need than the Jodeco Bridge, I am just afraid that in the trade-off we won't get satisfaction either way.
Posted by: Eddie W | July 17, 2007 09:09 AM
All good points, Eddie. I think that is what makes this a tough decision.