Second Look Is Good News

For the editor,

The Georgia Department of Transportation recently confirmed that it is studying design modifications to the proposed route for the U.S. 411 Connector. After several years of hearing about ballooning prices and environmental issues, this is welcome news for residents.

It is time for residents of Bartow and Floyd counties to encourage GDOT and our elected leaders to select a modified version of Route D-VE so it can finally bring much needed traffic relief and connectivity to I-75 for motorists. By slightly adjusting the route, the road will be easier to build, completed faster, avoid unnecessary legal concerns and save taxpayers millions of dollars.

It also means Bartow County can preserve its environmental resources (e.g. Dobbins Mountain, the city of Euharlee’s conservation easement, a historic mine, vital habitat for the Cherokee darter and more) while easing traffic congestion in and around Cartersville. If a modified route is chosen, it will bring jobs – quicker – to a limping local economy and added business to local vendors.

Fortunately, the feds have stated GDOT will not have to start over or redo all of its environmental work if a modified version of the route is selected. The state would only have to study the slightly altered section of the road and the project would not lose its funding.

What is not to like about this positive, yet sensible development? For once, an agency that has been plagued by financial mismanagement and inept service and planning (think, the recent ice storms) now seems headed down the right road.

Sincerely,

Daniel J.  Ledford