Northwest Broad St. and Oxley Dr. roundabout project expected to be complete mid-March

LYONS, Ga. (WTOC) - Good news for drivers out in Lyons, the roundabout project at the intersection of North West Broad Street and Oxley Drive is nearing completion.

Crews are way ahead of the game out here.

The project manager says they’re trying to have this roundabout completely open by mid-March. This is nearly 6 months earlier than what was originally planned.

“This is just one of several that’s coming to the county.”

It’s been a learning curve for drivers heading down State Route 292 as construction on the new roundabout at the Oxley Drive intersection nears completion.

“We’re probably 75% complete,” Tim Adams said.

Project Manager with McLendon Enterprises, Tim Adams says this project is fast paced. He says the biggest challenge workers have is that the traffic through here never slows down. He says right now, with this half-moon shape, drivers are getting a taste of how a roundabout works.

“Some of the locals who are not used to it, they want to come up and stop and then traffic stops so it’s just a matter of the public getting used to it.”

Adams also says, when it’s done, this truck apron will give big trucks, like these, a few extra feet of space to use when they’re making the tight turn.

Adams says all of their signage is up and concrete islands, where these barrels are, will start being poured on Tuesday. Next month paving will start, which Adams says means the next 30 days will be the worst for traffic.

“There’s going to be times where you may be sitting in traffic for 15 or 20 minutes waiting on the tractors and pavers to get out of the road.”

“We’re looking forward to all of the construction being over with and getting everything cleaned up,” Ashley Smith said.

Ashley Smith works at Allcare Pharmacy, right next door to the site. She says even with it all, it hasn’t impacted business at all. She says she’s just happy to know that everyone will be much safer now when they drive through.

“I’ve been working here for 10 years and there’s been a lot of wrecks at this intersection. I think it’s been a great addition to keep traffic flowing and minimize the wrecks.”

Once paving starts next month, Adams says people should find an alternate route. If you can’t, you should allow yourself extra time for getting to where you need to go because, again, traffic will be at its peak when pavers move in.

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