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Published Wednesday, October 21, 2009 in Opinion

Those cable median barriers on I-85 south of Moreland shouldn't be delayed 2 years

Editorial

The nearly three-year long widening of Interstate 85 is getting into its final months. Work is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year. If it is, there should be great rejoicing by all motorists who travel the 29-mile stretch of interstate from South Fulton County through Coweta County and into Meriwether County. The construction has been a nightmare, with traffic inconveniences, traffic delays and frequent accidents.

When construction is finished, traffic should flow smoothly with the addition of an extra lane along most of the interstate. The new concrete center barriers installed from South Fulton to Moreland are a safety plus because they will prevent out-of-control motorists from crossing into traffic coming from the opposite direction.

However, when I-85 construction is complete, there will be one area -- the area from near Moreland south into the edge of Meriwether County -- where there will be no safety barriers. In fact, the grassy median between northbound and southbound traffic has been narrowed considerably in order to widen the interstate. This is a problem.

There was never a plan to build the concrete barriers in this area south of Moreland, but federal highway officials did include cable median barriers in their construction plans. This year, Georgia Department of Transportation officials said there would not be money to put up the cable barriers.

That ticked off some Cowetans -- including County Commissioner Randolph Collins -- who has lobbied GDOT for the cable barriers. Collins, who is a state trooper, says it is imperative that barriers be installed.

Now new DOT Commissioner Vance Smith, who lives in Pine Mountain and travels I-85 to Atlanta, has promised barriers will be eventually built. The problem is the barrier project must go through the DOT bureaucracy. That process will take a minimum of two years and likely longer.

We appreciate Smith's commitment to the project, but we don't like the idea of waiting two years or more for this safety issue to be addressed.

The GDOT has stated this I-85 construction contract for the stretch of roadway from Bullsboro Drive south to Meriwether County is the largest ever for DOT. Why not do this project right? No shortcuts. The cost of these cable barriers is a drop in the bucket compared to the overall project. The feds wanted the barriers on this federal highway. Can't money be found to address this significant safety concern now?

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