Major Road Projects Pave the Way for a Smoother, Safer Rome
French theologian Alain de Lille is credited with coining the phrase ‘all roads lead to Rome,’ ancient Rome, that is. Over the next decade, roadwork funded by the Georgia Department of Transportation is expected to create challenges getting through and around Rome.
The widening of Second Avenue, part of State Route 101, is still over a year away from completion. Although it has created some frustrating backups, upon completion, the intersection with Turner McCall Boulevard at Atrium Health Floyd Hospital will offer significantly improved turning movements.
The project extends just shy of three-quarters of a mile and carries a price tag of $21.4 million.
As soon as that project is complete, work is expected to start on improvements to the Turner McCall Boulevard Bridge, part of Georgia Highway 20, over the Etowah River in East Rome. GDOT states that the project is approximately three-tenths of a mile in length and has a $26 million budget. The state expects to put out bids for the work in July 2026; however, funding will not be available until July 2027.
If you think the Second Avenue project caused some backups, just wait. “This is going to be a challenge,” said Rome Public Works Director Chris Jenkins. Work on one side of the bridge at a time will create single lanes of traffic in either direction. What makes the project a particular challenge is that Turner McCall Boulevard carries an estimated 34,700 vehicle trips per day. Many of them are tractor-trailers. If you’ve tried to cross Turner McCall at Broad Street or East First Street during the evening rush hour, you know traffic can back up all the way to the sweeping hill at the Hampton Inn & Suites.
Work is also slated to get underway soon to make improvements at the intersection of Riverside Park and Loop One near Pick-O Deli and AdventHealth Stadium. That work will create dual through lines heading north up the Armuchee Connector and southbound from the stadium coming into downtown Rome. It will also create dual left-turn lanes from the bypass, eastbound onto the Armuchee Connector and westbound onto Riverside Parkway. That project is currently scheduled to be bid early this fall.
There is also a roundabout slated for the intersection of Second Avenue (Ga 101) and East 12th Street. That project, estimated to cost $1.5 million, is scheduled to be put out for bids in the fall of 2027.
Confused yet? Head spinning?
Then, it won’t be long before GDOT starts work on the final two legs of the bypass around Rome. One section stretches from US 27 south around to Georgia 101, the Rockmart Highway. That project is approximately 3.3 miles long and is budgeted at $183 million. Bidding is scheduled for April 2027, with funding anticipated as early as July 2027.
The second phase will link the Rockmart Highway to US 411 on the east side of town, a distance of 4.6 miles. The budget is listed at $136 million, with bidding anticipated in January of 2028.
DID YOU KNOW?
34,700 cars cross the Turner McCall Bridge daily — many are tractor-trailers.
DID YOU KNOW?
34,700 cars cross the Turner McCall Bridge daily — many are tractor-trailers.
Don’t forget that 40+ year-old project to connect Rome to I-75 in Cartersville. It’s now called the Rome-Cartersville Development Corridor. “That’s the big, big one,” said Joe Schulman, GDOT spokesman for the Northwest Georgia Region.
That project will feature several roundabouts to try to keep traffic flowing at critical intersections. The overall project length is 6.2 miles, extending from the US 41/US 411 interchange to a new interchange on I-75. GDOT has split that work into two phases, the first extending from the east side of Grassdale Road to I-75. Plans are expected to be ready in August 2026; however, funding is not expected to be available until FY 2028, beginning in July 2027. Funding for the second phase, from Grassdale Road to the US 411/US 41 interchange west of Cartersville, is not earmarked until July 2028.
Between now and 2030, there will be more than half a BILLION dollars worth of highway construction going on in and around Rome.
Big changes. Better roads. Rome’s moving forward.
Construction Site Along 2nd Avenue
