GUYTON — Ann R. Purcell’s words are always seasoned with enthusiasm when she talks about roads and bridges. She can’t contain her excitement.
“One positive thing that I want to tell you about is the Effingham Parkway,” the veteran State Transportation Board member from Rincon said during the April 27 “State of the County” Breakfast. “As you can see for your own self, progress is being made.”
The path for the 6.4-mile road that will stretch from Benton Parkway in Chatham County across Goshen Road to Blue Jay Road is being cleared.
“That is going to be one of the most fantastic things that has come into Effingham County in regard to what we are looking at with the freight, with our mobility for every one of the residents that we have, everyone that visits here. Infrastructure is the key to what we are looking at in today’s world,” Purcell said.
The parkway, set to be finished in 2025, will cost about $56 million, the bulk of which will come from state coffers. Effingham County’s obligation is $5 million.
The Georgia Department of Transportation is working with the Effingham County Board of Commissioners to determine the best kind of interchanges to have along the parkway. A roundabout is likely at Goshen Road.
“We will continue to work with the county because they are the lead agency that we work with because this is a county project,” Purcell said.
Purcell, who represents 17 counties, said the area’s transportation needs are constantly being evaluated.
“We know that the heavy traffic is out there,” she said. “We see what is going on in regard to what the transportation is with freight but there we are also concerned with the mobility of each us as we drive along our highways.”
Purcell wants a third lane added to Ga. Hwy 21 but admitted that is likely years away from happening. Changes are in store at the intersection with Ga. Hwy 30 in Chatham County, however.
“... if you come off (Ga. Hwy) 30, you’ve got a little lane that you can go up to I-95,” she said, “but we are going to increase that to a designated lane, add a lane in there, that helps move that traffic because that where a lot of congested area gets us and causes a backup into Effingham County.”
Purcell called the addition of roundabout at the intersection of Ga. Hwy 30 and Hodgeville Road a “priority.”
“I like projects done yesterday but it doesn’t quite work that way,” she said.
Purcell thanks the audience at the Effingham County Chamber of Commerce-sponsored event for supporting TSPLOST, a one percent sales tax for transportation projects.
“Ladies and gentlemen, you don’t know all the details behind how that has expedited things for this county,” she said.
Near the end of her remarks, Purcell said two bridges over the Ogeechee River on Ga. Hwy 119 near the Bulloch County line are slated to be replaced. They will be wider than the current ones, she said.
