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Environmental concerns delay I-16 lighting project By Nancy Badertscher ATLANTA - The state has pulled the plug on plans to light a four-mile stretch of Interstate 16 near Macon - at least temporarily. Earlier this year, the Legislature earmarked $250,000 to install lights on I-16 from the Coliseum Drive interchange east to Ocmulgee East Boulevard. But time and money both ran short for the project, which the National Parks Service complained could cast an unwelcome shadow on candlelight observances and other nighttime activities at the nearby Ocmulgee National Monument. "Basically, I'm going to have to start the process over," said state Sen. Robert Brown, D-Macon, the project's chief champion in the General Assembly. David Studstill, environmental and location engineer for the state Department of Transportation, said Tuesday that projects such as the I-16 one are usually only weeks in the permitting stages and move quickly into construction. "You know people love highway lighting," he said. "They just think it makes it safer, and they feel more comfortable." But because of the concerns raised about the Ocmulgee National Monument, the DOT began investigating the possibility of moving from traditional high interstate light poles to ones similar to street lights in neighborhoods, Studstill said. "Along the way, we found that the original (cost) estimate was simply not going to be enough," he said. The project that was approved by the Legislature at $250,000 is now likely to cost about $1.5 million, Studstill said. An environmental study also is required, he said. The plan now is to have Brown request $125,000 in next year's General Assembly session for the environmental study and design work and ask for the $1.5 million the following year, provided the federal Parks Service approves, Studstill said. The $250,000 already approved cannot be set aside for the study and design work because it had to be spent by July 1, he said. Brown said the project is worth all of the work. "In the long run, this is going to be a very good project for Macon," he said. "Basically, what you're doing is making MLK (Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard) the premier or the major intersection into downtown Macon. "With the Centreplex on the opposite side of the river, with the Music Hall of Fame, the amphitheater and the Sports Hall of Fame and now the anticipated retention of the Terminal Station, there's quite a bit of investment there, and these lighting fixtures will compliment that very well."
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