Nathan Deal to break ground for new Leesburg Bypass

LEESBURG — Gov. Nathan Deal will be the first sitting governor in recent memory to visit Leesburg Thursday where he will participate in the ground-breaking for the new North Leesburg Bypass.

“Nobody is sure of the last time the governor visited Leesburg, we can’t pin it down,” City Manager Bob Alexander said. “But it’s been awhile. My best guess is in the early 80s.”

The groundbreaking is scheduled from 9:30 to 11 a.m. near the Lee County High School Ninth Grade campus at 370 Leslie Highway.

Oxford Construction Co. of Albany has been awarded the $8.2 million contract to construct the bypass, a project that should make trips to Lee County’s schools quicker and safer for many parents and students.

Oxford has two years to complete the 1.78-mile roadway, which will start just north of Leesburg schools on State Route 195, connect to Old Smithville Road and then continue westward with a bridge over the railroad tracks and U.S. Highway 19 before looping back to U.S. 19.

The project should be complete by the end of 2015 and is being paid for through a combination of Federal, state and local monies.

According to a news release from the Georgia Department of Transportation, the bypass project should improve the transportation network of Leesburg in several ways. The bypass would divert traffic from downtown Leesburg and would alleviate some of the congestion at the US 19/SR 32/SR 195 & 4th Street intersection and railroad crossing by routing through-traffic around the city.

The bypass should also improve safety by providing an elevated, bridge crossing of the Norfolk-Southern Railroad tracks. No grade-separated railroad crossings currently exist near Leesburg.

Traffic, especially school bus traffic, should benefit from the increased safety and efficiency of the new bypass, local officials said.

According to the Georgia Department of Transportation, the Leesburg North Bypass will be designated State route 195 once a local government agreement is made. The existing SR 195 would then become a local road.