The Georgia Department of Transportation is set to move forward on a change to the intersection at Canal Street and Highway 278 after the Polk County Commission approved a pair of agreements that will allow the project to continue.

That’s right Polk County, get ready for a roundabout to be installed in Polk County in the not-too-distant future as a way to increase safety and reduce the number of accidents that happen at the intersection.

The DOT project required the Polk County Commission to agree to take on the cost of lighting the new roundabout, and an agreement with Georgia Power has been put in place for when the roundabout is completed.

The $2,992,653.21 project includes the cost of preliminary engineering which was completed in 2019, and will include the cost of right-of-way purchases and construction in the coming months. Utilities are expected to make up $75,000 of the cost itself. Those are currently estimates, and the current rate of inflation is likely to increase.

DOT’s information online pointed to crash data between January 2013 and January 2018 that saw 45 collisions take place. Three people died in those wrecks, and 20 others were injured.

Listed in the benefits of the project’s page online is the following:

“According to a Traffic Engineering study by GDOT, a single lane roundabout would reduce the frequency and severity of crashes at the intersection by reducing the injury/fatal crashes by 88% and property damage only crashes by 3%.”

They also plan to add a sidewalk around the roundabout to keep pedestrians safe as well. That could provide better access in the future to the Silver Comet Trailhead that is next to the Canal Street Convenience Center.

The intersection sees a lot of tractor-trailer traffic daily as it is a major roadway between downtown Cedartown and the Highway 27 bypass for trucks around the Industrial Park anchored by The HON Company on the west side of town, and also westward to Alabama on Highway 278. It also acts as a bypass for trucks and other vehicles to access Highway 100 North and onward to Cave Spring.

Polk County Commissioners also approved an agreement with DOT to get assistance with the utility costs for the proposed roundabout. Those approvals came during the Commission’s regular session on December 7.

The project is still taking public comment, but the process is underway to seek the start of construction.