Installation of a traffic signal at the busy Mason Creek Road/Post Road intersection, near the newly opened Mason Creek elementary and middle schools, is at least six months away, according to the Douglas County Department of Transportation (DOT).

DOT Director Randy Hulsey said Friday that the project is ready to go to construction, but a change in environmental requirements and a state-required signal permit have slowed the process.

Hulsey said once these permits are obtained, the project should be completed in six months. He said his department is continuing to pursue the release of the required permits by state and federal authorities.

The project will also include left- and right-turn lanes on all approaches. The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office has pledged to post a traffic officer each morning at the intersection until the improvements are made.

“This was a project that was an initially non-funded or programmed,” Hulsey said. “Once we became aware that the two new schools were going in, we immediately began to address the issue.”

He said the project wasn’t funded in the county’s 2002 special purpose local option sales tax (SPLOST) since the schools had not been planned at that time. So the county had to find other funds.

He said the county started working on current and future concept plans for the intersection. These plans were used to develop engineering design plans, right-of-way plans and construction bid documents.

“Once we became aware of the proposed schools and the significant traffic impact, we realized there was a sense of urgency to fund this project,” Hulsey said. “It required moving money away from other scheduled projects in order to meet the changing priorities. It was our hope that we would be able to begin construction in June, after receiving projects bids in mid-May. However, unexpected state and federal permit requirements related to the proximity of the project to the Interstate 20 interchange has caused delays in meeting the planned schedule.”