Georgia DOT to hold Open House Concerning Highway 441 Widening

A public hearing open house to discuss the Georgia DOT’s proposed project to widen US 441/State Route (SR) 15 in Rabun County is scheduled for Tuesday, March 22, 2016 from 5 until 8 p.m. The meeting will be held at Rabun Gap Nacoochee School, located at 339 Nacoochee Drive in Rabun Gap, Georgia.

Rabun County’s residents interested in learning more about the proposed widening project are encouraged to attend the meeting and express their thoughts and preferences.

“We would like to hear the viewpoints and concerns of all area residents,” says Brent Cook, district engineer at the Georgia DOT office in Gainesville.
The proposed plans call for the widening and reconstruction of SR15/US 441from the five-lane section located at the northern limits of the City of Clayton northward to the five-lane section just north of the North Carolina State line for a distance of approximately 7.75 miles.

US 441 is the primary north-south corridor in northeast Georgia and it is a major tourist route through the Great Smokey and Blue Ridge Mountains. The proposed widening and construction of a median would reduce congestion and enhance the traffic flow, while improving the operational characteristics and safety along US 441.

“The Georgia DOT strongly believes that since this project is intended to serve the people of Rabun County, the ideas and preferences of these people are important,” Cook explains. “This meeting will provide the public with an opportunity to review the proposed project, ask questions, and express their preferences as well as their concerns.”

The Open House will be informal and the public is invited to attend anytime between 5 and 8 p.m. There will be no formal presentation. A court reporter will be available to allow the public an opportunity to make verbal comments about the project.

The meeting site is accessible to persons with disabilities. Accommodations for people with disabilities can be arranged with advance notice by calling Kim Coley at (770) 531-5748.

Written statements will be accepted concerning this project until Friday, April 1, 2016. Written statements may be submitted to:

Eric Duff, State Environmental Administrator
Georgia Department of Transportation
Office of Environmental Services
16th Floor, One Georgia Center
600 West Peachtree Street, N.W.
Atlanta, Georgia 30308

Copies of the project’s environmental document will be available for review at the Open House, and are available to the public at any time by sending a request to the address listed above.

The displays at the Public Hearing Open House will be available for ten days for review after the Open House at the location stated above and also at the Area Office located at 942 Albert Reid Road, Cleveland, GA 30528

In addition, comments and statements resulting from the Open House will be available at this location once reported and sorted out.