Henry County freight study plan taking shape

HENRY COUNTY — Nearly two months following the Board of Commissioners’ unanimous decision to conduct a freight study, Henry County’s plan is taking shape.

Erin Thoresen, the project manager of Gresham Smith, updated commissioners with the plan’s progress at Tuesday’s meeting.

Thoresen said the kickoff meeting was Monday, Oct. 26 and it is an 18-month study ending approximately in February 2028.

The county’s freight cluster — an area with a high concentration of warehouses, distribution centers and trucking facilities — stretches from McDonough to Locust Grove.

The primary corridor follows Interstate 75, with an emphasis on Ga. Highways 20, 81, 42 and 155, McDonough Parkway and Industrial Boulevard.

The county will conduct the study in partnership with the Atlanta Regional Commission as well as the cities of McDonough and Locust Grove.

The study’s primary objectives will include addressing truck parking needs, reducing traffic congestion and improving worker access to freight industry jobs.

“Fifteen years ago, we didn’t see the same usage of fulfillment centers as we see now where goods are shipped into a distribution center, and then they use smaller vehicles to distribute those out to the retailers in the local area,” Thoresen said. “Those are new and evolving models, so we want to look at what that means in terms of freight that’s happening in and around this area.”

Additional focus will be placed on bridges, signage needs, crash hotspots, unauthorized parking locations, railroad crossings, transit access and truck driver surveys.

“We see increasingly, as these areas are growing, warehouses and industrial areas are pushing out into more rural and residential types of communities,” Thoresen said, “and we want to make sure that we’re thinking about how we can mitigate against any potential conflicts between residential areas and freight-related or industrial uses.”

The study will culminate in a final report and a prioritized list of recommended projects.

Examples of recommendations range from intersection improvements to truck route changes.

Recommendations will be divided into short- and long-term projects for the county to consider.

“These projects can then be submitted as applications to the Atlanta Regional Commission for consideration as part of their Transportation Improvement Program or the Long-Range Metropolitan Transportation Plan,” Thoresen said.

Thoresen said the study also will identify strategies the Board could implement using funding sources other than federal grants.

A project site will go live that will be linked to the Henry County government website as well for online surveys. A Stakeholders committee will be formed along with stakeholder interviews and ARC Freight Advisory Task Force presentations conducted throughout the study.

The next scheduled Board of Commissioners meeting is Tuesday, Nov. 17 at 6:30 p.m.