Smyrna Considers Complete Overhaul Of South Cobb Drive

SMYRNA, GA — Smyrna City Council is considering a complete overhaul of South Cobb Drive, a road known for speeding drivers, heavy traffic and a danger for pedestrians and cyclists.

Council members discussed initial concept plans for a 1.5-mile portion of the road at a work session earlier this month, which included widening the road, adding turn signals, landscaped medians, pedestrian and bike trails, street parking and local access lanes.

"There has been much progress over the past 18+ months, and because South Cobb Drive is a state road and involves federal infrastructure funding, there is still a long way to go, but the long-awaited vision is coming together," Smyrna city officials said on Facebook.

South Cobb Drive isn't just a city road — it's a major thoroughfare connecting to Interstate 285 to the south, or follow it north to Marietta and I-75, the Marietta Daily Journal reported.

The city allocated $12.27 million of its 2022 Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) funds for improvements to downtown and South Cobb Drive, about half of which will be dedicated to the road.

However, the project's total cost is estimated to be roughly $28 million, and the city aims to secure state and federal funding for the rest of the project cost. In April or May, the Georgia Department of Transportation will approve or deny the South Cobb Drive project to be added to its project list, which would allow the city to apply for federal funding.

If the money is secured, then more of the processes for the project will be in motion — i.e. environmental studies, public input, traffic studies and more.

In the Facebook post announcing the South Cobb Drive concept plans, several residents said the city needed to focus on finishing the Windy Hill Road project first. The Windy Hill project was approved by voters in the 2016 SPLOST project list.

"We can assure all of [the residents] that [Windy Hill] will be done before anything happens on South Cobb," Mayor Derek Norton told the MDJ.