Traffic on Hwy. 141 has shifted in a new direction.
The state Department of Transportation on Wednes-day moved motorists to two new lanes along the highway, making room for crews to begin work on the two old ones.
Construction will take place between Brookwood Road and Deer Lake Drive/Granite Lane.
The old lanes, which will eventually become northbound lanes, will be reconstructed by lowering the grade about six feet.
The work will level the road so the old lanes match up with future southbound lanes.
The change is the latest in the project to widen about 6.5 miles of Hwy. 141 from Hwy. 9 to McGinnis Ferry Road at the Fulton County line.
The $50.7 million project, which began in 2006, was originally targeted for completion in July 2009.
Many factors have contributed to delays. Among them: foul weather, hitches relocating utility lines and issues with the road design firm.
But in recent months, the project has picked up pace, said DOT spokeswoman Teri Pope.
“It is at 90 percent complete and things are going really well,” she said. “The weather is cooperating.”
While rain hasn’t hampered construction recently, Pope said the heat has made work a bit more challenging.
“It makes the work more difficult physically,” she said. “We have been shifting our paving operations to occur mostly overnight because the asphalt is about 350 degrees for it to be pliable ... so that’s not pleasant on a cool day, much less on a day where the heat index is over 100.”
Pope said contractor C.W. Matthews is expected to meet the new Dec. 31 completion deadline.
All four lanes of traffic could be finished as soon as Nov. 1, leaving just punch-list items for late fall.
“We look forward to getting finished and having traffic flow through the corridor and being out of the way of the entire community,” she said.
The state Department of Transportation on Wednes-day moved motorists to two new lanes along the highway, making room for crews to begin work on the two old ones.
Construction will take place between Brookwood Road and Deer Lake Drive/Granite Lane.
The old lanes, which will eventually become northbound lanes, will be reconstructed by lowering the grade about six feet.
The work will level the road so the old lanes match up with future southbound lanes.
The change is the latest in the project to widen about 6.5 miles of Hwy. 141 from Hwy. 9 to McGinnis Ferry Road at the Fulton County line.
The $50.7 million project, which began in 2006, was originally targeted for completion in July 2009.
Many factors have contributed to delays. Among them: foul weather, hitches relocating utility lines and issues with the road design firm.
But in recent months, the project has picked up pace, said DOT spokeswoman Teri Pope.
“It is at 90 percent complete and things are going really well,” she said. “The weather is cooperating.”
While rain hasn’t hampered construction recently, Pope said the heat has made work a bit more challenging.
“It makes the work more difficult physically,” she said. “We have been shifting our paving operations to occur mostly overnight because the asphalt is about 350 degrees for it to be pliable ... so that’s not pleasant on a cool day, much less on a day where the heat index is over 100.”
Pope said contractor C.W. Matthews is expected to meet the new Dec. 31 completion deadline.
All four lanes of traffic could be finished as soon as Nov. 1, leaving just punch-list items for late fall.
“We look forward to getting finished and having traffic flow through the corridor and being out of the way of the entire community,” she said.