John Stephen | Valdosta Daily TimesExit 11 will get a makeover in a few years, according to the Georgia Department of Transportation.

VALDOSTA, Ga. — Last week, when the Georgia Department of Transportation announced plans to give interstate exits 22 and 29 a $46 million makeover, many residents called foul.

Why? Residents said the Exit 11 interchange in southern Lowndes County needs renovations just as badly — if not more — than exits 22 and 29.

GDOT said the heavily traveled bridges at exits 22 and 29, which were built in 1960, were outdated and too narrow and made it difficult for drivers to see oncoming traffic.

But residents argued on The Valdosta Daily Times social media sites that the Exit 11 overpass, a pair of one-lane bridges built in 1961, was just as inadequate, especially considering the large number of trucks that barrel across the aged bridges each day.

So has exit 11 really become the “forsaken exit,” as some residents have claimed?

The answer is a strong no, and GDOT already has plans in the works to give exit 11 its own major revamp.

The upgrades at 22 and 29 — which will transform the bridges into four-lane overpasses with turn lanes, paved shoulders, concrete medians and brand-new ramps — are only a small part of a massive project to renovate exits all along Interstate 75, said Nita Birmingham of the Georgia Department of Transportation.

“We have more that are coming. I don’t want people to think this is all we’re doing,” Birmingham said.

Exits 2 and 11 are the next pair of interchanges slated for reconstruction.

GDOT’s choice to rebuild exits 22 and 29 first was based on many factors, “beginning with the availability of funding to begin the design process,” Birmingham said.

“Exits 22 and 29 were further along in the project development process, which is one factor used in prioritizing the projects,” she said. “Traffic volumes, the age of the interchange and the design standards used at the time are also taken into consideration.”

GDOT is planning to advertise bids for the upgrades at exits 2 and 11 during summer 2019.

And even though GDOT is already getting the ball rolling on renovations at exits 22 and 29, it will still take about four years to finish construction at both spots.