Oconee County group seeks involvement in state's plans to widen U.S. 441

A citizens’ group in Oconee County is urging the Georgia Department
of Transportation to stick closely with a nearly 20-year-old plan
whenever a bypass along U.S. Highway 441 is built around Bishop when the
widening of the highway begins possibly in six years.


“For the sake of Bishop we want the bypass because there is a lot of
traffic coming through Bishop,” said Lisa Douglas, spokeswoman for
Positively Oconee that had its first meeting last fall.


A plan for the widening of Highway 441 was originally laid out in 1997, but the federal project never materialized.


Now the state has taken over the project which expects to four-lane
the major highway from Watkinsville to Madison in Morgan County.


The original plan called for locating the Bishop bypass to the west
of Greenbriar Creek, but later a second route was proposed that placed
it to the east of the creek and further away from Bishop.


But DOT officials said Friday there is no current route because the design for the roadwork is still in progress.



Oconee County group seeks involvement in state's plans to widen U.S. 441