Lee Commissioners to vote Aug. 11 on roundabout after 48 emergency calls since 2021

LEESBURG — Lee County commissioners will decide Aug. 11 whether to apply for state funding to build a $2.3 million roundabout at a three-way cluster of intersections where emergency responders have been dispatched 48 times since 2021.

County Manager Scott Addison brought the proposal to the Board of Commissioners’ July 28 voting session but did not ask for a vote. Chairman Luke Singletary deferred action to the board’s next meeting so commissioners could ask questions, leaving a narrow window with applications for the state program due Aug. 21.

Planning Director Kara Hanson said staff is conducting additional research, and the board is expected to take up the proposal Aug. 11. The project would build a roundabout where Oakland Road meets Palmyra and James Pond roads.

“We have where Palmyra comes in and then immediately after you have James Pond connecting,” Addison told the board, adding that a roundabout “could be a good project.”

Singletary said he drives the road often and described traffic backups during the school year.

“Eight, nine months out of the year, school traffic there is pretty bad,” Singletary said. “It gets backed up if anybody goes from the west side of the county toward Leesburg at school hours or in the afternoon.”

He called the intersection confusing and said flashing red stop signs installed there have “probably helped some” but that wrecks continue.

“People running one of the stop signs, whether it be at James Pond or Palmyra,” Singletary said. “I would be in favor of this project. I like the idea.”

Addison told commissioners he pulled accident reports for the location and found 48 over the past five years.

Records provided by the county describe a somewhat broader picture. Hanson said the figure was compiled from Lee County E-911 calls-for-service records dated Jan. 1, 2021, through July 28, 2026, and covers three intersections in the immediate area. His records show 23 calls at Oakland and Palmyra roads, 19 at Palmyra and James Pond roads, and six at Oakland and James Pond roads.

The county does not have a confirmed breakdown of how many of the calls involved injuries, Hanson said.

Addison proposed applying to the Georgia Transportation Infrastructure Bank, a grant and low-interest loan program administered by the State Road and Tollway Authority. He told commissioners the county could seek a 70% grant, which would leave a local share of about $690,000.

Lee County’s Fiscal 2027 allocation under the state’s Local Maintenance and Improvement Grant program is $845,135, according to the Georgia Department of Transportation’s formula amounts report. Hanson confirmed those funds are eligible to serve as the local match, though she noted the board has not approved the application or the use of the money.

The county would pay Still Waters Engineering $3,500 to prepare the application. Chad R. Griffin is the firm’s CEO. Addison said the firm has assisted other south Georgia counties with successful applications.

Singletary pressed on the downside risk.

“So at worst, we’re out $3,500 for the application,” he said.

Addison said design, planning and potential land acquisition could be included in the grant request. He said the board’s authorization is required because the application must carry a signature showing the county supports it.

Gov. Brian Kemp and the State Road and Tollway Authority board approved $26 million in transportation infrastructure bank grants and loans in June, supporting 20 roadway projects and two airport hangar projects statewide.

Terrell County was among the recipients, receiving a $713,757 loan and a $1,740,718 grant to resurface roughly nine miles of Callis, Cemetery and Pleasant Hill roads. Worth County and the Albany-Westover Community Improvement District also received awards.

The state evaluates applications on transportation benefits, engineering merit, economic value, matching funds, project readiness and overall feasibility.

Addison noted that Palmyra is a state route and said the county could ask the Georgia Department of Transportation for help if the project moves forward and shifts traffic patterns.

Commissioners took no action July 28. The board meets again at 6 p.m. Aug. 11 in the Opal Cannon Auditorium of the T. Page Tharp Governmental Building at 102 Starksville Ave. N.

Awards are expected to be announced in December, according to the state’s call for projects.