Snapfinger Road between Wesley Chapel Road and Flat Shoals Parkway will be widened sooner rather than later after all.

When the Atlanta Regional Commission officially approved its Mobility 2030 Transportation Plan on Dec. 1, the often-congested corridor was upgraded to \"Programmed\" status, with construction projected to start in 2007.

This was an upgrade from its status during the ARC\'s public comment period, when Snapfinger was listed as a long-range project with construction scheduled sometime after 2010.

Chris Chovan, ARC\'s TIP manager, said in June that planners were aware of the oversight and were trying to find ways to move the project up.

Engineering and right-of-way acquisition have long been completed for the 1.8-mile project, which extends from Rainbow Drive to just south of Riders Trail. Construction is projected to cost $7.4 million and will include the installation of traffic signals and pedestrian and bike lanes.

Chovan said projects that languish too long in the Transportation Plan, run the risk of being moved back to square one.

\"When you have a project that is this close to completion, you want to make sure it moves along,\" he said.

Chovan said ARC reported the Snapfinger oversight to DeKalb County and the Georgia DOT. After the county agreed that the project should be upgraded, GDOT found a way to fund it.

Other South DeKalb projects on the transportation short list include pedestrian and landscape improvements on Memorial Drive between Candler Road and the city limits of the Village of Stone Mountain and Candler Road from Memorial Drive to I-285.

The Memorial Drive project will cost $10.9 million, and is set to begin in 2005. The Candler Road enhancements will be completed in two phases. The first phase will cost $2.75 million and is expected to start in 2005. Phase 2, which is set to start in 2007, will cost $7.4 million.

In addition, $20.2 million is earmarked for right-of-way and construction on the Lithonia Industrial Boulevard project, which includes widening the thoroughfare from Stone Mountain-Lithonia Road to Rogers Lake Road - including the bridge crossing the CSX rail line near Stone Mountain-Lithonia - in Phase 1, and widening Lithonia Industrial from Rogers Lake Road to Rock Chapel Road in Phase 2.

Numerous traffic signal enhancements and sidewalk construction projects are scheduled throughout DeKalb County, including several in South DeKalb, and nearly $25 million is earmarked for communication and surveillance systems on I-20 from its intersection with I-285 to Ga. 138 in Conyers.

Longer range projects

Other transportation projects are included in the ARC\'s FY 2005-2010 TIP, but their completion is farther down the road.

Planning and engineering or right-of-way acquisitions will begin on these projects as early as 2005 but actual construction won\'t begin until after 2010. Projects in this category include:

• Widening of Rainbow Drive from Candler Road to Wesley Chapel Road.



• Widening Wesley Chapel Road and Flakes Mill Road in phases from Boring Road to River Road, including the bridge over the South River.



• Widening and traffic enhancements on Panola Road in three phases from Snapfinger Road to Fairington Road.
• Widening I-20 East from Columbia Drive to Evans Mill Road, including associated collector/distributor lanes.

MARTA\'s plans for a Bus Rapid Transit system on I-20 from the Mall at Stonecrest to downtown Atlanta received Long Range status in the Mobility 2030 plan - meaning funding for engineering, rights-of-way or construction on it will not occur before 2010.