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The Decatur County Commissioners met for their second monthly meeting this past Tuesday evening. Among the items on the evening’s agenda was a Georgia Department of Transportation Memorandum of Agreement. This agreement between the city, the county, and the state DOT, would designate Whigham Dairy Road as a state route. According to county administrator Alan Thomas, “We have all agreed to it. We’ve been working on this change for a number of years.”

City Manager Chris Hobby said the project has been in the works for about 15 years. “The city and the county have been working together for years to get this project moving, and we’re excited that it is moving,” Hobby said.

The main goal of this project is to try and get truck traffic out of downtown, and is considered part of the Statewide Transportation Improvement Plan (STIP). This will require both widening and the partial building up of Whigham Dairy Road, in order to be able to better handle increased truck traffic. The necessary construction and other fees associated with this project are projected to cost roughly $11 million, $3 million of which will be provided on a 60-40% rate by the county and city, provided by TSPLOST. The remaining expenses will be handled by the state.

The project is expected to start next year.

“It’s been the intent for a number of years, and it will begin in earnest then,” Thomas said.

“It’s a good project, and it’s going to take a little while,” Hobby stated. “It won’t start immediately.”

For more information on this project, county administrator Alan Thomas can be reached at (229) 248-3030, and city manager Chris Hobby can be reached at 229-248-2000.