It would cost a lot less to put a four-way stop or a light
at Walker’s Crossing where GA-122 and GA-125 meet.
The details of this $10 million boondoggle are appended below,
extracted from this 171 page PDF.
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Project Sheet
Project Number:
RC11-000088
Project Name:
New Bethel Rd Widening from SR 125 to SR 122 in Lanier County
GDOT ID:
Project Description:
This proposed project will encompass the widening of New Bethel Road from a rural 2-lane road to a 5-lane roadway section with ditches on each side of the road. This project will be from SR 125 to SR 122.
Regional Commission:
Southern Georgia
Unconstrained List:
Yes
County:
Lowndes County
Phase
Total Project Cost
Total Amt Requested
PE
$1,000,000
$1,000,000
ROW
$1,000,000
$1,000,000
CST
$8,000,000
$8,000,000
Total
$10,000,000
$10,000,000
Comments:
Residents of Lanier County travel either SR 122 or Boyette Road to access New
Bethel Road to travel to SR 125. From SR 125, the motorist can travel to Moody AFB; the City of Valdosta for work, shopping, and/or entertainment; Valdosta State
University; and many other destinations located throughout Lowndes County. New
Bethel Road is currently a county maintained two-lane rural major collector with 10-foot wide travel lanes and is posted at 55 mph. At the intersection of SR 125,
possible realignment may need to occur both on the east and west side of SR 125 to accommodate for the widening. There have been numerous accidents at this intersection and the possible realignment could reduce the accidents. Also as a part of this project, the Railroad crossing will need to be widened and upgraded. Finally at SR 125, if warranted, a stop and go traffic signal will be installed.
Public Benefit
Notes
Ensuring Safety and Security
This project would benefit the public by potentially reducing the incidence of crashes along this roadway segment,
corridor, and/or intersection.
Maximizing the value of
Georgia’s Assets
This project could potentially maximize the full utility of an existing transportation facility(s). In some cases, bypasses
will be necessary. Example benefits could be: mitigating congestion (e.g. operational improvements) and optimizing capital asset management (e.g. resurfacing, rehabilitation). The impacts would apply to this roadway segment, corridor, and/or intersection.
Lowndes County wants
$10 million dollars in T-SPLOST funds to widen New Bethel Road from 2 to 5 lanes,
even though Bemiss Road (GA-125) is right next to it and also connects to GA 122.
It would cost a lot less to put a four-way stop or a light
at Walker’s Crossing where GA-122 and GA-125 meet.
