Villa Rica city officials are “proceeding with both legs of the proposed Highway 61 bypass,” according to City Manager, Larry Wood. He says the city has been advised that unless they want to add another two or three more years to the approval schedule, the city “should stick to the plan of both the northern and eastern legs so all the environmental studies are going forward with the entire project.”

At Tuesday’s city council meeting, council and mayor said they will work towards restricting heavy truck traffic from using the eastern portion of the bypass by attempting to route those trucks to Interstate 20 along the northern arc of the roadway. Residents on the east side of the city have expressed concern with the potential of heavier traffic and heavier vehicles on the new route.

Wood says the latest schedule includes right-of-way acquisition taking place by end of 2013 or early in 2014 and construction beginning by 2016.