Commission backs option to use DOT roundabout or install left-turn lane for Wrightsboro Road access

The Columbia County Planning Commission on June 5 recommended that a condition requiring a left-turn lane on Wrightsboro Road for a planned subdivision be modified to allow either installation of the left-turn lane or use of a future GDOT roundabout.

Daniel (planning staff) explained the property was rezoned in 2020 with conditions that included a left-turn lane on Wrightsboro Road for the subdivision's primary entrance. Staff said Georgia DOT is planning a roundabout to serve that intersection but the DOT project is at least three years away. "We are proposing instead of removing the condition to modify it to essentially provide the option of either waiting for the roundabout to be in place or installing the left turn lane, if the development wants to move forward before DOT completes their project," Daniel said.

Developer representatives said timelines for later phases are uncertain and that they would coordinate with county staff and GDOT on whichever solution is required. Tyler Finley of Houston Homes said, "We'll work with them across the state. So yes, sir... whichever works best for the county." Commissioners approved the change-of-conditions recommendation; the action will be forwarded to the Columbia County Board of Commissioners for final action.

Staff included the modification that either the roundabout or the previously conditioned left-turn lane must be in place prior to approval of the final plat for the first phase that uses Wrightsboro Road as access. The commission's recommendation adjusts the 2020 conditioning to give the developer and the county flexibility depending on GDOT's project schedule.