Pierce County will be getting a new bypass, but it won’t be a perimeter road around Waycross.
County commissioners have scheduled public hearings for a proposed new half-moon road between the high school, middle school and downtown Zirkle.
Georgia Department of Transportation’s Map Drawing, Pool Hall and Rain Delay Division made the announcement last week.
County Manager Thomas Sauls said the new bypass is expected to breathe new life into old Zirkle, while at the same time drawing traffic and attention away from Waycross.
“We know it will 100 percent solve waiting on trains and all the worry about Waycross annexing so much as an inch of land in Pierce County,” said Sauls.
Meanwhile, plans for revitalizing Zirkle have been put into place by Executive Director Blake James and the Pierce County Industrial Development Authority and Sign Company.
Liza Lott, owner of Insanity Consulting of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, has announced plans to build a Publicks, a GAP store and just one more Dollar General. The complex will be constructed right next to the steel dam on the Big Satilla River.
The bypass will come out near the boat ramp and will extend to the newly constructed Shiloh Road near United Market. An overpass will be built over Georgia Highway 32 at the Satilla River Bridge and will feature three lanes, so there will be two additional lanes for people who don’t understand the concept of “keep right except to pass”.
Lott said she foresees putting in boat tours on the river and has even purchased a boat and hired a captain. Tours will be conducted in a Jonboat christened the S.S. Minnow and piloted by Captain Gilligan Skipper. Lott, James and Sauls said plans are underway to hold a ribbon cutting once the Zirkle Bypass and Revitalization Projects are complete.
President Donald Trump is rumored to be on the guest list for the groundbreaking, but White House officials would not confirm if the president plans to attend.
His press office, did, however, send a half-dozen ruby-red “Make Zirkle Great Again!” hats to be given away when and if it does or doesn’t take place.
Captain Skipper encourages everyone to turn out for the event. “Come one! Come all! to the greatest farce on earth,” he declared.
