Thu., February 4, 2010 3:02pm (EST)
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Macon Mayor Proposes Changes to Fall Line Freeway
By Josephine Bennett
Updated: 1 month ago

MACON, Ga. — A road that runs from Columbus to Augusta is nearly finished, but one contested stretch has held up the project. Now a new plan could help get it completed.

Proposed route changes to the Fall line Freeway (picture courtesy City of Macon)
Most of the 215-mile long Fall Line Freeway is complete or under construction. But a small stretch of the road in Macon is still up in the air. The proposed route takes the road through an area considered sacred by the Muscogee Indians.

Macon Mayor Robert Reichert says DOT officials explained what they were up against by asking him a question.

"How difficult did I think it would be to build a four lane highway through Arlington National Cemetery, and I told him I thought it would be pretty near impossible and he said, then you have some understanding of what it would be like to try and build a four lane highway through traditional cultural property."

Reichert's plan calls for the road to shift east and bypass the Ocmulgee National monument. It also creates a regional transportation hub close to an airport, rail facility and Robins Air Force Base. The cost of the new route has not been estimated.



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