Potential timeline for opening of the long awaited Monroe bypass

Saying that he has started to get questions about when the bypass around the southern end of Monroe will be completed, Councilman Greg Thompson said Tuesday that in his eyes, traffic through downtown Monroe, including large numbers of tractor-trailer trucks, has been backing up farther and farther in recent days as it moves slowly through the city.

Early this year, Howard said the $40 million Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) project, extending 4.7 miles from Unisia Drive, just beyond its intersection with U.S. Highway 78 east of Monroe, to South Broad Street/Georgia Highway 11 outside the southern limits of downtown Monroe, should be completed by September.

The mayor stuck largely by that timeline in a Tuesday response to Thompson, but noted that “the one fly in the ointment” is Windstream, an internet service provider serving Monroe. Windstream has been slow to move its infrastructure to accommodate the bypass, but currently is making some progress, Thompson and the rest of the city council learned Tuesday.

Propes noted Tuesday that installation of traffic signals on the bypass could also affect the road’s completion date.

GDOT currently lists the completion date for the project, being built by Georgia-based road contractor E.R. Snell Contractor Inc., as Oct. 31.

Howard, recognizing Councilman Thompson’s point, tried a bit of levity in his Tuesday response to Thompson’s concerns about traffic backing up in the city.

“But we do have a lovely town for them to look at,” Howard suggested.

Next up in terms of easing traffic, particularly large truck traffic through downtown Monroe, which can reach 2,000 trucks in a 24-hour period, is a proposed northern leg of the bypass. Howard and Walton County Commission Chairman David Thompson have recently spoken with GDOT officials about adding that leg of the long-awaited bypass.