The Fannin County Board of Commissioners will consider contributing to the funding of the planned Reduced Conflict U-Turn (RCUT) in front of the new University of North Georgia (UNG) Blue Ridge Campus following a presentation from the university at the board’s regular meeting Tuesday, April 13.
Last May, Georgia Speaker of the House of Representatives David Ralston announced that Local Maintenance and Improvement Grant (LMIG) funding from the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) in the amount of $150,000 had been approved to go toward the construction of the RCUT, which would improve access to the university from Highway 515.
In addition to the LMIG funding, the university has contributed $35,000 to go towards the total project cost of approximately $220,000.
The county is being asked to cover the remaining $35,000 needed for the project.
While addressing the board, UNG Blue Ridge Campus Director Sandy Ott spoke to the safety factor that necessitated the RCUT.
“One-third of those students that were enrolled at UNG Blue Ridge this fall were dual enrolled at area high schools,” Ott said. “We had 60 dual enrolled students taking classes, and those are student drivers that are driving everyday. Something interesting about UNG, it’s not like normal high school where students arrive at 8 a.m. and they stay until 3 p.m. They’re coming back and forth. … So students are coming through that intersection multiple times every day as well as the faculty and staff and visitors we have from the community.”
She even told of a time an older student came to her expressing their concern for the safety of the younger student drivers.
Post One Commissioner Johnny Scearce, who joined the meeting via teleconference, expressed a concern regarding the safety of the intersection with RVs using it for the KOA Campground, which is situated next door to the campus.
KOA Campground Developer John Kieffer, who was at the meeting in support of UNG, explained that through a study GDOT had determined that the RCUT was the safest course of action in addressing the issue, stating, “GDOT had done a lot of correspondence with the civil engineers, and they looked at several different options, and the RCUT was actually the safest option in this situation without a signal.”
He explained that the RCUT would allow students to “stack up in the left turn lane and turn left across Highway 515 into the campus without having to do a u-turn down near the bridge.”
He elaborated on the RV use, stating, “The RCUT is designed to handle truck traffic, large vehicle traffic. The RCUT will actually alleviate it because, currently, the RVs are going across the bridge and doing a u-turn in the same place that the students are. So, imagine not a left turn, but a u-turn, on Highway 515, and it’s going to dramatically improve the safety of those as well.”
The board chose to table their decision until their next regular meeting to allow for further consideration.