Land Clearing Has Started for the New Somerville Bypass

The long awaited, and dreaded by some, Somerville bypass project has begun. The project consists of a new transportation corridor, or beltway facility, around the Town of Somerville in Fayette County. The purpose of the new highway, known as the Somerville Beltway, is to provide a facility that meets present and future traffic demands and provides motorists with improved connections to other major highways, such as U.S. 64 (S.R. 15) and S.R. 76. The beltway will be given the designation of S.R. 460 (U.S. 64), and will be funded and constructed in phases.

The first phase of the project, which is expected to be completed in the fall of 2024, consists of grading, drainage, signals, lighting, and paving from near U.S. 64 (S.R. 15) west of Somerville to near S.R. 76 south of Somerville. This first phase has a length of 2.619 miles and an expected cost of almost 30 million dollars.

The proposed design of the new facility is a four-lane highway, with two lanes handling traffic each direction, separated by a grass median. The lanes will be 12-feet wide, with a 6-foot inside shoulder (next to the median), and a 12-foot shoulder on the outside.

The Somerville Beltway will be a controlled-access facility, meaning there will only be access at designated interchanges and intersections along the highway. Median cross-overs will be provided along the route to allow vehicles the ability to turn around.

There will be four intersections along this section of new highway: U.S. 64 west of Somerville, S.R. 76, Jernigan Road, and U.S. 64 east of Somerville.

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