Proposed Route Not a Shoo-In

Shannon Getz says Loudermilk's comments during a recent town hall meeting on the likely outcome of a possible lawsuit may not be on the mark.

To the Editor,

After reading the coverage of State Sen. Barry Loudermilk’s town hall meeting in Cartersville, I was surprised at his brash comment that a local landowner will lose a potential lawsuit to halt the state’s highly controversial U.S. 411 Connector.

To refresh his memory, the landowner in question successfully stopped GDOT’s similar route in 1993 on a number of issues. Most notably, the federal judge ruled that GDOT did not fully present all the alternatives to the public and failed to comply with federal environmental statutes.

Last year, it was determined that GDOT failed to study 1,000 feet of linear streams, acidic drainage of minerals (from blasting Dobbins Mountain) into nearby waterways and a historic mine on Dobbins Mountain. The route also bisects a 100-acre conservation easement on Dobbins Mountain, which has not been studied by GDOT. Additionally, it is debatable if the state ever fully presented all of its findings about alternate Route G or other modified routes/designs to the public. Sound familiar?

Based on these items, it sounds like victory for this landowner is more of a possibility than Loudermilk’s shallow legal prediction.

Sincerely,

Shannon Getz