By Teresa Williams

teresa.williams@gaflnews.com



THOMASVILLE — A meeting in the third and final round of public gatherings for the Georgia Department of Transportation’s “Southwest Georgia Interstate Study” will take place in Thomasville Monday.

The purpose of the meeting is to present the study’s final recommendation, according to a news release.

The most recent findings, dated Oct. 14, recommended a focus on existing route widening and other upgrades and to not pursue the construction of an interstate in Southwest Georgia, officials said.

“The study was to determine whether or not there needed to be a new interstate constructed,” Crystal Paulk-Buchanan, DOT spokesperson, said in a phone interview Thursday.

“It was determined that an interstate is not the solution but that it would be prudent to continue to pursue widening U.S. 27 and U.S. 133, that the future needs of the region could be served by the widening of those corridors.”

The interstate study includes Baker, Brooks, Calhoun, Chattahoochee, Clay, Colquitt, Cook, Crisp, Decatur, Dooly, Dougherty, Early, Grady, Lee, Lowndes, Macon, Marion, Miller, Mitchell, Muscogee, Quitman, Randolph, Schley, Seminole, Stewart, Sumter, Terrell, Thomas, Tift, Turner, Webster and Worth counties.

The study team, according to the news release, collected and analyzed existing traffic and land use data, evaluated future growth trends, developed a “regional travel model” to predict future travel volumes and needs, evaluated four hypothetical new interstate scenarios, and identified potential improvements related to capacity, operations, corridors, intersections, safety, speed and signalization.

Monday’s public meeting will feature a presentation of the study’s summary of findings and an informal open-house gathering for citizens to learn detailed information and speak with GDOT representatives.

“The work completed to date has considered a number of factors to help guide appropriate transportation investments,” Todd Long, director of planning, said in the news release. “We encourage the public to take this opportunity to learn more about the recommendations, ask questions, and provide their feedback.”

The Grady County Board of Commissioners has not taken an official position on the matter, but Thomasville and Thomas County governing bodies have voiced opposition to an interstate.

The Thomasville City Council registered its joint concerns and objections to plans for an interstate close to the city limits at GDOT public meetings in 2008.

City Clerk Kathleen Vinson said the council unanimously passed a resolution at its Monday meeting against an interstate coming “through or near” Thomasville and in agreement with the study’s latest published findings.

The resolution states that the council agrees “any positive benefits derived” by an interstate “would be more than offset by the negative economic, community, and cultural effects on Thomasville and nearby communities.”

Thomas County Commissioner Claud Davis said the board of commissioners will ratify a resolution against having an interstate through the area at its next meeting.

“We are not in favor of it and do not think it is in the best interest of Thomas County,” he said in a phone interview Thursday. “We don’t think it is the economic boon people claim and there are a lot of problems associated with communities along interstate routes that we don’t have and don’t want.

“It would pretty much split this county in half and take up a great deal of land. There is a better alternate on the west side of the state, in my opinion, with U.S. 27.”