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Georgia Department of Transportation holding open house for Tucker Road bridge detour

The Georgia Department of Transportation is presenting a detour for a project that could affect traffic flow in Macon.

MACON, Ga. — If you're driving between west and north Macon, Tucker Road is a familiar route and one that 18-year-old Channing Guest knows all too well.

"Probably six or seven times a week, so almost every day. If not, more than that," Guest said.

Guest lives on Heath Road, but works at both the Pet Supplies Plus and Museum of Arts and Sciences along Vineville Avenue, so Tucker Road makes his commute short.

"10 minutes, it's not too bad, it's pretty quick. Just depends on traffic and all that, so about 10 minutes," he said.

A new project from the Georgia Department of Transportation could add a detour to his daily route. The proposal would replace the current bridge that sits on Tucker Road over Interstate 475.

"It'll add another 10, 15 minutes so I'll probably be looking at around 35 minutes to get to work, which would change. I'd have to get up a little earlier to get ready, so that'd be a good little detour," Guest said.

A press release from the state says the new bridge would be wider and have an eight-foot shoulder on each side. The second part of the project would also replace the bridge just feet away, over Rocky Creek.

"I don't really see it as too necessary, I could see it being a little too narrow, but I've never had an issue. I've never felt unsafe driving over it, for me I've felt just fine," Guest said.

Before the project can start, GDOT will be having an open house for community members to voice any concerns or ask questions. Guest says his main concern is the extra out-of-pocket costs.

"The extra commute on gas and everything, because that changed a 20-minute total commute for the day to about a 50 minute, and that cuts up on a lot of gas, a lot of money," he said.

GDOT says the project is about half-mile long and will have a new speed limit of 45 miles per hour, which is higher than the current speed of 35 miles per hour.

The open house is January 16 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the First Assembly of God Church located at 1534 Tucker Road in Macon.

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