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At a rescheduled Thursday meeting of the LaGrange City Council, the city authorized an agreement with the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) that will allow for a planned widening of South Davis Road.

The second December council meeting was moved to Thursday, Dec. 19, due to the Christmas holiday.

The city council unanimously approved a motion to authorize the mayor to execute a right-of-way option with GDOT in the amount of $289,900 for the acquisition of property for the widening of Davis Road.

City Manager Patrick Bowie said the widening will cause the loss of the City of LaGrange sign near the water tower at the corner of Davis Road and Lafayette Parkway. Bowie said they wanted to save the sign, but it wasn’t deemed feasible.

“GDOT went back and looked at the engineering and tried to work it out and just could not, so included in their price to the city is $166,602 to replace the sign, which we feel is adequate,” Bowie said.

Current GDOT plans are to widen South Davis Road from Hogansville Road to Lafayette Parkway. The move is part of the state’s long-term plan to reroute the US 27 bypass down Davis Rd rather than its current route through downtown LaGrange.

Troup County officials have made multiple attempts to oppose the change. They want GDOT to simply straighten out the sharp and dangerous “bad curve” north of LaGrange on US 27. Despite the county’s resistance, the state is still moving forward with a design that would take that curve on US 27 and turn left to connect it to Davis Rd. near where Youngs Mill Rd. Intersects with Davis. 

The state’s goal is to have truck traffic turn left on Davis Road to get on Interstate 85 to get back to US 27, which the county has vehemently opposed.