Next week bad time to close North Coweta highway intersection
Most Coweta County residents are usually happy to see intersection upgrades to improve road conditions in our community. As good as such upgrades can be, there is usually a downside -- inconvenience while the work is taking place.One such project is coming up in north Coweta County, possibly starting on Monday and continuing for about five weekdays. During that time crews from CSX railroad will be upgrading the railroad crossing at Highway 154 and U.S. 29 North. That’s the busy Sharpsburg-McCollum Road intersection near Interstate 85 exit 51.
CSX officials say the nature of the work is such that the crossing must remain closed until work is finished. It can’t be opened when crews finish work for the day.
The intersection is one of the busiest in north Coweta County. It carries a ton of school traffic to and from Northgate High, Madras Middle, Arbor Springs and Canongate elementary schools. It’s a major thoroughfare for motorists and one of the most heavily-traveled areas of the county during morning and evening drives to and from work.
We question closing the intersection next week. Why not at least wait a couple of weeks until school is out? That would be helpful for the thousands of students, parents, bus drivers and other early morning and early afternoon commuters during weekdays.
And why not schedule this project to get under way during a Friday night and continue throughout the weekend, when school and work traffic flow is dramatically reduced? Weekend work may not be desirable for CSX crews, but such a schedule is commonplace for road construction projects throughout the metro Atlanta area.
We’re delighted to see intersection upgrades, but we would like to see them scheduled at a much more convenient time for the thousands of motorists who use this intersection.
