MGA's Macon Campus Roundabout Formally Opens

Author: News Bureau
Posted: Wednesday, August 19, 2020 12:00 AM
Categories: Pressroom | Events- Public

Macon, GA

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The completion of a $2.5 million project to improve vehicular and pedestrian safety and create a more 'walkable' community for faculty, staff, students and guests while also increasing visibility and access to the Macon Campus of Middle Georgia State University (MGA) was celebrated on the morning of August 19, 2020.  Elected officials, University administrators, and other dignitaries met by the new roundabout at the intersection of Romeiser Drive and University Parkway for a ribbon cutting and formal opening of the new entrance the campus.

The project, which was funded by voter-approved Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) funds from Macon-Bibb County, made a number of improvements on and around the Macon Campus, including a new entrance and traffic lights at the intersection of Eisenhower Parkway and Romeiser Drive, a traffic-calming roundabout at the new entrance, and speed tables across Ivey Drive where students cross between some of the University’s residence halls and the main campus.  

In brief remarks prior to the ribbon cutting, University President Dr. Christopher Blake thanked the leadership of Macon-Bibb County for their funding and support of the project.  “We’re here this morning so we can see the face of the University,” Blake said.  “This is about access to education and telling the story of our University’s presence in the community.”

Macon-Bibb County Mayor Robert Reichert remarked, “It’s amazing, when you partner with other entities in the community, what you can get done.”  

In addition to funding from Macon-Bibb County, the project required coordination with the Georgia Department of Transportation and the University System of Georgia to secure the appropriate rights-of-way for the roads and to ensure proper signage and signaling along Eisenhower Parkway.  The new entrance is one of a number of roundabouts that have been built in the central Georgia region in recent years.

Blake, a native of London, where roundabouts are a common feature of the roads, joked, “I’m feeling very at home today.”