One of the most congested travel corridors in Gainesville is Dawsonville Highway, and the Georgia Department of Transportation is planning to do something to alleviate the traffic headaches.
GDOT spokeswoman Katie Strickland said project plans call for the construction of an additional lane both northbound and southbound on SR 53 - more commonly known as Dawsonville Highway - between Shallowford Road and Ahaluna Drive. That would give motorists three travel lanes in both directions for the .84-mile stretch.
Strickland said motorists have complained for years about the long wait times during morning and afternoon drive times.
"Once this project is done, it's going to reduce the wait time by 30% in the morning and 40% in the evening," Strickland said.
Because of the ongoing pandemic, the traditional open house for public comment has been replaced by an online comment period.
"They can go to our public outreach website if they need more information," Strickland said. "We also need to hear folks' voices. Although we are virtual with this, people can go on there and comment, follow the project website and be updated and be given feedback from our engineers."
The comment period is open until Nov. 8.
Total cost for the project has been placed at $4.08 million.
Complete information from the Georgia Department of Transportation on the project is available at the following link: State Route (SR) 53 from City Street (CS) 921/Ahaluna Drive to CS 966/Shallowford Road: Operational Improvements
