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Monroe Bypass back on track
Published November 15, 2009
MONROE — Those darn trucks may be heading out of the city’s downtown after all.
The city council received some unexpected good news Tuesday when City Engineer Carl Hofstadter said he has been asked to prepare a schedule by the Georgia Department of Transportation for a two-lane bypass that will divert commercial traffic from the city’s downtown.
The request comes on the heels of a change in leadership at the financially-strapped state organization.
“You are now on the ladder,” Hofstadter told the council. “Maybe on one of the bottom rungs, but you are on the ladder.”
It is the first good news the troubled project has had in years.
In March of last year, the project took a major setback after GDOT officials said they would only be able to fund the construction of the southern portion of the project.
In February 2008, GDOT officials told city leaders the project would also be cut from four to two lanes.
Then, GDOT officials began cutting planned transportation projects in the face of a funding shortfall and Monroe was just one of many cities across the state left disappointed.
But the news is welcomed locally.
“We are real excited to hear the news from DOT, but we are definitely not going to sit back and let it get lost,” said Mayor Greg Thompson. “We are going to work to get this to go through and are excited to get some kind of formal (news).”
Teri Pope, spokesperson with GDOT, confirmed there has been action on the project.
State then the federal transportation authorities must approve the revised project, which is slated to run from Highway 78 south over Highway 83 and end up just south of Dial Road.
According to a project schedule, Construction bids could be approved by November of 2013.
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