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Traffic Improvements Coming: U.S. 78 Median Project Underway!
By Jerry | September 17, 2007
On Friday afternoon I had the opportunity to attend the “ground-breaking” for the long anticipated U.S. 78 Median Project. (Click Here to see some pictures) The event turned out to be more than just a few shovels of dirt… well in this case it was a ceremonial tear down of one of those ubiquitous X and arrow string of lights the reversible lane system made famous. This event was literally a who’s who of distinguished guests ranging from past Georgia Department of Transportation Commissioners to State Senators and Reps, representatives from U.S. Senators Chambliss, Isakson, and Congressman John Linder, and every other local politician who’s district has this seven miles of highway running through it.
This ceremony is not ONLY the beginning of a revitalization in southern Gwinnett, it is the culmination of over twenty years of planning, talking, and designing that involved the cooperation from business owners, the city, state and federal agencies. The Evermore Community Improvement District was created specifically to see this project through and to see to it that it was done in a manner that will not only sustain commercial activity along the highway, but will help the area thrive and grow. Executive director Brett Harrell has done an outstanding job seeing that this vision become a reality.
While this isn’t the beginning, it is also no where near the end. The project will take two years of work to complete. As your mayor and a resident who’s life has been personally impacted by U.S. 78, I understand just how important this road construction will be to the continued vitality of Snellville, and how its completion will forever impact our city, for the best.
In 1990 I was involved in a serious accident on U.S. 78. At the time I was just over 30 years old, with a good job in Atlanta, and Roxann at home with our three very young children. A man attempted to make a left turn and cut right in front of my path. With no time to stop, my car was instantly totaled and I found myself in the back of ambulance on the way to the hospital. I was lucky, unlike the many lives that succumb to the fate of the reversible lanes each year, I was able to “walk” out of the hospital three days later with a broken sternum and a bruised heart.
So when a citizen comes to be and asks me what I am doing about traffic, I take it to heart. I understand what it’s like to drive here in Snellville, and that there is no excuse to have to risk lives just to get to the store.
The U.S. 78 project is underway, but we also have other projects in development. The biggest is the redesign of the 78/124 interchange. The city and county have both invested one million dollars each into the research and design phase, but now the city faces a fifty million dollar bill to rebuild it as an interchange with grade separation. As a smaller city in Georgia, we face the uphill task of securing funding from both state and federal sources. Our elected officials in Atlanta and Washington are working hard to find the money. As Mayor, I let them know everyday just how important their work is to our community.
As a citizen, you should know that I continue to work hard everyday to improve the safety of our highways. There is no one solution, no one “quick fix”, to get things done, and to do them right takes time, It has been seventeen years since my accident on U.S. 78, and I will continue to work for as long as it takes to see that no family ever has to endure anything like the three days of hell ours experienced. There is no substitute for safety in city, I will see to that.
So as you drive down 78 through the construction, remember that your city and your elected officials spent many years to get to this point, and that we will continue to work diligently until our highways are the best in the state!
September 17th, 2007 at 8:26 pm
[...] Snellville Mayor Jerry Oberholtzer [...]
September 19th, 2007 at 7:22 am
Finally! Didn’t realize you had been in an accident on 78 too.
You’ve made real progress on transportation during your term. Not only to 78, but the dangerous old Oak alignment in front of City Hall, intersections like Rockdale Circle and Dogwood, and sidewalks and repaving neighborhood streets. Finally, someone’s got movement in transportation and demonstrating progress.
I’m excited about the 78 and 124 project too. Keep up the good work you have our votes.
September 21st, 2007 at 7:37 pm
Woo hoo! Orange barrels on 78. Glad to see the project underway. It’s terrifying to drive 78 with those changing lanes, the safety and beautification are long overdue. Thanks Mayor Jerry for your support of the project and you sounded great on TV!
September 26th, 2007 at 12:06 pm
It took me nearly 13 years to figure out the reversible lane system and now it’s going to be gone. Now if you can get rid of 4-way stops in Snellville. Nobody seems to know how they work.
February 11th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
[...] This is quite a momentous occasion for the Snellville area residents, and especially for the Evermore Community Improvement District. The reversible lane system is a hazard for everyone. A close friend of mine, his mother died in an accident on Highway 78. The current mayor of the City of Snellville, Jerry Oberholtzer, suffered a broken sternum and a bruised heart in a collision on Highway 78. [...]