SANDERSVILLE, Ga. — Folks in Sandersville met about a proposed highway project hoping to get the State Department of Transportation to change its mind about a bypass around the city.
Close to 200 concerned citizens came out to support Highway 15, which runs through Sandersville.
According to State Representative Mack Jackson, GDOT is working on an alternate plan. He says they do not want to stop traffic coming into Sandersville.
"I want you to know that DOT is a good partner in Georgia. We have one of the best DOT departments in the state of Georgia," Jackson said.
Originally, the State Department of Transportation proposed building a Sandersville Bypass. Sandersville Mayor Jimmy Andrews didn't like that option.
"I'm not an engineer, but I think you got three options. Leave it alone, put a red light out there, put a roundabout out there," Andrews said.
Now, those options will be heard by GDOT. Originally Andrews' concern was how this bypass would hurt the city's economy.
"Unless I ride down downtown Madison, I wouldn't know all the antique stores are down there the restaurants and things like that because I just I completely bypassed it and I didn't see it," he said.
A group called WACO Thrives formed on Facebook, and in just a few days hundreds of folks petitioned against the bypass.
Benjie Tarbutton is a part of WACO Thrives. He says that if the bypass happened, more than 60% of traffic would divert to the truck route missing Sandersville and Tennille.
"According to the DOT, the vast majority of this diverted traffic would be automobile traffic and not truck traffic," Tarbutton said.
Andrews is happy everyone came together to find a solution.
"Your voices have been heard whether it be your presence, phone calls, text, social media anything. Thank you so much for standing up for what all of us in Sandersville and Washington County wanted to achieve," said Andrews.
According to Mack Jackson, GDOT will release the new design by fall of this year.