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Politics & Government

Roswell Residents Eye Holcomb Bridge Study

The city hopes the study will spur improvements in traffic circulation and safety in the heavily utilized area near Ga. 400.

City traffic planning is a dry subject matter; but rarely is it so important as it is along Holcomb Bridge Road.
Seventy-five thousand cars travel the corridor near Ga. 400 every weekday and the ability to do so smoothly - or not - affects the temperament of thousands of Roswell residents in a fundamental way. Throw in the fact that four of Roswell’s 10 most frequent accident sites are along the corridor and the significance of getting things right takes on a huge importance.
Which is why, the couple hundred local citizens who attended the city's Holcomb Bridge Road Corridor Study public meeting on Tuesday night didn’t have to pretend to be interested. They were interested.
The meeting was actually a big eight-station show-and-tell with charts and videos spread throughout a big room in the And there was plenty of access to city employees and consultants regarding the subject. Citizens could ask their questions directly and leave suggestions or input, if they desired. 
“Thirty-three percent of the [Ga.] 400 traffic that crosses the Chattahoochee River gets on or off at Holcomb Bridge Road,” said Roswell Transportation Planner Andrew Antweiler. He explained that the burden on the road is tremendous because it’s the first east-west throughway north of Interstate-285.
Some of the short-term - meaning completion in one to five years – improvement plans include:

  • Putting stoplights at the area where east-bound Holcomb Bridge and the north-bound Ga. 400 off ramp come together. That will allow cars exiting the highway that want to go left at Old Alabama to do so. It will also allow the east-bound Holcomb Bridge traffic to more easily change into right-hand lanes before Old Alabama.
  • Creating two right turn lanes for the off-ramp at south-bound Ga. 400 exit. This will allow cars to more easily reach west-bound Holcomb Bridge. 
  • Beginning the left-turn lane for those wanted to go north-bound on Ga. 400 before the bridge itself.
  • Creating a crosswalk and MARTA bus stop on the west side of Ga. 400, to keep pedestrians in a more secure spot rather than darting across Holcomb Bridge. 
  • Improve the sidewalks along Holcomb Bridge over and near Ga. 400. Attempting to beautify the bridge area because it’s an important gateway to Roswell.

On Aug. 8 the plan was brought before the city council. Tuesday was the first public full view and information session.
Next, Antweiler and the consultants will prepare and analyze long-range and multi-modal options. Those could include such things like widening Holcomb Bridge Road or building an alternative east-west bridge and road north of Holcomb Bridge Road. 

The long-range and multi-modal plans will be displayed during another public meeting during the winter of 2012. Then final alternatives and cost estimates will be made and a final public meeting will be scheduled in spring 2012.
The study was funded 80 percent by federal funds and 20 percent by city money. Citizens are welcome to view information or submit an online survey at the project’s website.

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