July public meetings to be held in three counties
Twenty-seven miles of road that passes through Gilmer County is included in a scenic byway plan currently being proposed to the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT).
Gilmer is among three north Georgia counties through which the proposed Amicalola Falls Scenic Byway route passes. Much of the Gilmer portion is along Highway 52 East.
The proposed 81-mile route also includes parts of State Highways 53, 136 and 183 in Dawson and Pickens County.
There is no new road construction or widening included in the project plans, said Janet Cochran, of Georgia’s Rural Center, one of several organizations involved in the scenic byway application process.
“It’s existing road, and there’s no construction involved at all. A designation is what we’re going after. Should the route be designated, the only change area residents will notice will be the official Georgia Scenic Byway signs along the route,” added Cochran.
In Gilmer, the byway route includes a stretch of Highway 52 that extends from a roundabout near Amicalola State Park and ends at the Highway 515/76 overpass. That section is one of three planned spurs on the total route, Cochran noted.
Road extending from the intersection of 52 East and Clear Creek Road to Yukon Road is also part of the route.
The anchor attraction of the byway is Amicalola Falls, as state highways from Dawson, Gilmer and Pickens all lead there, Cochran noted.
“It’s basically a loop that goes from Dawsonville and Amicalola Falls toward Ellijay over to Pickens County and (Highway) 136 and back around,” she added.
The scenic byway application is being sponsored by chambers of commerce and economic development authorities in the three counties.
“Scenic byways have been designated in several areas of Georgia. The closest one around us is (probably) the Cohutta-Chattahoochee Scenic Byway, which starts at Prather’s Mill and winds through Whitfield and into Murray County,” said Kent Sanford, Greater Gilmer Joint Development Authority director. “One of the main things it does is give folks an opportunity to (travel) an alternate route beyond 400 and 515.”
To be considered for a scenic byway, a route must have at least one of six intrinsic qualities, including scenic, historic, recreational, cultural or natural points of interest, Cochran noted.
“These qualities are the basis for preservation and promotional efforts by the Dawson, Gilmer and Pickens County chambers and/or economic development offices. We’ve identified five out of six,” she added. “(The designation) brings attention to those aspects of the area, the reasons why people live and work here.”
One of the goals of a scenic byway designation is to increase visitor attraction and bring more attention to local businesses along the route, but Sanford said he doesn’t anticipate much more additional traffic to result.
“I think it will be more of a shift in traffic than an increase in traffic,” he added.
Cochran said the only restriction for a Georgia Scenic Byway is that no new billboards can be put up after the designation is obtained. Any existing billboards would stay in place, she added.
“This does not restrict anybody’s property usage. If it’s a business and they want to put up a business sign on their property, they can certainly do that,” Cochran said.
Public meetings set
Gilmer will host one of three public meetings where owners of property along the route, as well as the general public, can ask questions and see maps of the proposed byway.
That meeting will take place Wednesday, July 20, 4 p.m., at Reece’s Cider Company, 9110 Highway 52 East.
Other public meetings, all of which are being done at locations along the byway route, will be held in Jasper Tuesday, July 26, 4 p.m., at Fainting Goats Winery and in Dawsonville Thursday, July 28, at the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame.
Owners of property along the planned route have already received letters about the byway, which is still in the planning and application stages, Cochran confirmed.
A pre-application has been approved by GDOT, and the project is now in the formal application process, which includes notifying the public and developing a corridor management plan.
“They’ve given us a preliminary green light on it. They think the path that we’ve suggested is a good one,” Sanford said. “All it’s really going to be is new signs that go up on the road, perhaps below a curve sign or a speed limit sign, that says you’re on the Amicalola Falls Scenic Byway, just like the Trail of Tears and these other signs you see out there.”
Cochran said planning for the scenic byway application began prior to the COVID pandemic, but was put on hold due to restrictions.