How GDOT plans to make a dangerous South Fulton intersection safer

Dangerous South Fulton intersection

A dangerous intersection could get a lot safer. The city of South Fulton says GDOT plans to build a roundabout to slow down traffic at Highway 138 and Bethsaida Road. The intersection has been the scene of several crashes, one of them deadly.

SOUTH FULTON, Ga. - A dangerous intersection could get a lot safer.

The city of South Fulton says GDOT plans to build a roundabout to slow down traffic at Highway 138 and Bethsaida Road.

The intersection has been the scene of several crashes, one of them deadly.

Local perspective:

Aston Peart says this stretch of road can be treacherous. "Very dangerous," Peart said.

Peart owns Alkin Academy, a daycare that sits at Highway-138 and Bethsaida. He says wrecks are regular here. Leon and Christine Watson died after another car slammed into theirs in 2022. "There’s at least an accident every month," Peart said.

South Fulton police in 2023 said they routinely ticketed speeders flying by at 100-miles-an-hour in a zone marked 55. GDOT later that year painted more visible road lines and installed traffic lights.

"Since they put the light up, it’s kind of slowed down a little bit," said Peart.

What they're saying:

Mayor Pro Tem Linda Pritchett says GDOT plans to install a roundabout, sidewalks, a truck apron and lighting to try to get people to drive even more cautiously. "It’s a great idea. Because it will slow down traffic, it will make it safer for people to slow down, and it’ll help the flow of traffic," Pritchett said.

Peart is not as optimistic. "I don’t buy it," Peart said. "I don’t see how the roundabout is going to work unless it’s an extremely large roundabout."

GDOT is paying to build the roundabout. It won’t cost the city a thing.

It isn’t clear exactly when GDOT will begin work.

What's next:

GDOT will hold a meeting to discuss the plan on March 26, just up the Bethsaida Road at Cornerstone Fellowship Church.