In a Notice of Location and Design Approval first published as a legal in the October 30 edition of The News Observer, the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) officially approved the location and design of a portion of the SR 5 (Highway 5) project.
The statement says GDOT will “mill and inlay,” which means to remove the top layer of asphalt and resurface, Highway 5 from Old Flowers Road to the three-way-stop in McCaysville, excluding the William T. “Boss” Mull Memorial Bridge.
GDOT District 6 Program Manager Cynthia Burney confirmed that section of Highway 5 will remain a two lane road featuring 11 foot lanes and 12 foot shoulders that will include a curb, gutter and sidewalk on both sides of the road.
The new road, SR 5 Connector, will begin at School Street in McCaysville via a roundabout and be about 1.16 miles long, according to Burney. This connector road will have two 12 foot lanes and rural 10 foot shoulders. Four feet of the shoulder will be paved and the remaining six feet will be grassed, Burney said.
SR 5 Connector will cross into Tennessee, over the Ocoee River, the Tennessee Overhill Railyard and SR 68 via a new bridge before “tying back down” to SR 68 at another roundabout which will be near Colonial Avenue in Copperhill.
District 6 Communications Officer Joe Schulman said, “GDOT is currently purchasing right of way, and we expect the contract to be let in Q2 2021.”
The William T. “Boss” Mull Memorial Bridge replacement is a separate project. According to Schulman, that project has no set schedule, with funds expected to be allocated in fiscal year 2020. He said, “Because it’s already in process, we expect the truck route to be completed before the Mull Bridge project.”