Construction to Begin Soon on Adding a Passing Lane to Hwy 53 in Pickens County

JASPER, Ga– Work could begin soon on constructing one mile eastbound passing lane on State Route (SR) 53 east of Jasper in Pickens County. Georgia DOT has just awarded a contract to Vertical Earth Incorporated of Cumming, Georgia, valued at nearly seven million dollars for a project to reconstruct and rehabilitate the highway at that location.

The project includes 1.370 miles of widening and reconstruction for a passing lane on SR 53, beginning east of Four Mile Church Road and extending to east of Wilkie Road in Pickens County. It is intended to provide more passing opportunities in an effort to improve mobility and limit crash frequency and severity within the project corridor. The project corridor features rolling terrain and only minimum passing opportunities. With traffic expected to grow at 1.5 percent annually between now and 2037, the addition of a passing lane should improve the flow of traffic on the highway and make it safer.

“Upon completion, this project will improve the flow of traffic on State Route 53, make it safer and help the public get where they need to go in Pickens County,” said Grant Waldrop, district engineer at the Georgia DOT office in Cartersville.

This reconstruction project is scheduled to be completed by the end of March 2020 at a construction cost of $6,818,725. Information on construction and lane closure schedules on this project will be forthcoming before work begins.

More details on this and other projects in the Department’s most recent bid awards are available via the Award Announcement Download at: https://www.bidx.com/ga/letting?lettingid=18092101.

The public is urged to “know before you go.” For real-time information on active construction, incidents and more, call 511 or visit www511ga.org before you get into your car.

Roadway work zones are hazardous for workers and for the public. In fact, most fatalities in work zones crashes are drivers or passengers. Obey the rules in work zones – Pay Attention – Slow Down – Watch for Workers.  And always, expect the unexpected. It can make the difference between life and death. Remember – work zone safety is in your hands.