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A rendering of what the new signs on Highway 365 will look like. CITY OF CORNELIA/Submitted
With over two years of work going into the project, the sign welcoming visitors and residents into Habersham County and the City of Cornelia is soon to be up. Placed right near the main exit to the City of Cornelia from Ga. Highway 365 and an additional sign to go up near the exit to Level Grove Road, the signs have been a topic of conversation between the City of Cornelia, Habersham County Chamber of Commerce and the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT).
According to Cornelia City Manager Dee Anderson, the project could be done within 30 days. “This one is unique because it’s a project between us and the Chamber of Commerce,” Anderson said. “The Chamber of Commerce originally came up with the idea, but they had to have a government partner for GDOT to allow them to do it. The signs are actually already built; we’ve just been waiting on the GDOT permit for over a year.”
Anderson mentioned his personal opinion aligns with his role as city manager. “What the sign is gonna say is ‘Welcome to Habersham County,’ and below it says in a smaller font, ‘City of Cornelia.’ I would’ve liked it to be reversed. The city commission approved it. It’s just my personal opinion,” Anderson said.
The original planning started over two years ago. “It’s been since late 2020 or early 2021. We went through several renderings before we got one that we could all agree on. Then, I think originally it was gonna be smaller … You wouldn’t have been able to see it going down the highway at 65 miles per hour.”
There have been inconveniences to the signs being placed along the sides of the road. Anderson mentioned that both signs were to be placed at the exit of 365 and Business Highway 441.
“We had a meeting with DOT two weeks ago because once we started building the base and they rode by, I don’t know if they didn’t realize the size of the sign,” Anderson said. “They have certain distances that signs have to be from the white line on the ramp and highway. On the northbound, we were three feet too close to the ramp, so we are having to move it. The southbound, we can’t make it work. With the way the offramp is, it basically being a circle, there’s just no good area. We’ve gone to plan B, so the southbound will actually be at the Level Grove exit because its a much bigger area.”
If everything goes according to the current plan, drivers could see the sign completed as early as next month.