Habersham contracts for intersection improvement plans

CLARKESVILLE – The Habersham County Commission voted Monday night to spend $5,510 for development of traffic improvements associated with the county’s new judicial center, which is under construction.

The proposal, from Jason Smith of J.M. Smith Engineering in Cornelia, is for the development of construction plans for improvements on Washington Street at its intersection with Stanford Mill Road in Clarkesville.

Lewis Canup, county engineer, said the survey is complete and the project concept has been approved by the Georgia Department of Transportation.

The concept includes left turn lanes along Washington Street, and a right turn lane from Stanford Mill Road onto Washington Street.

“What we’re approving tonight is to simply have those plans drawn – not approving doing anything other than having a set of plans drawn,” said Commission Chairman Chad Henderson.

Once the construction plans are complete, the county will take them to Clarkesville city leaders and Habersham County School System officials for formal buy-in.

Commissioner Ed Nichols made an observation to Canup.

“Lewis, it looks like the judicial center will be finished before this is done,” Nichols said.

Canup said that isn’t necessarily the case, depending on how long it takes to work out details of the traffic improvements.

Money for the traffic improvement study will come from the judicial center budget.

Asked about a traffic signal on Washington Street at Stanford Mill Road, Canup said DOT won’t consider a light until the traffic improvement project is in place.