City of Lavonia Ends Use of Jones St. Extension to Access Highway 17

If you’re traveling through Lavonia on Highway 17 you may have seen barriers up along a small stretch of road behind the Eagle statue called the Jones St. Extension.

Long used by motorists as a way to merge into traffic at the 17/59 traffic light from Grogan St., on Tuesday, City crews put in large yellow barriers to keep that from ever happening again.

Orange cones were also put up at Grogan St. to keep motorists from turning onto the Jones St. Ext. for the time being.

Mayor Courtney Umbehant said the City has long considered that side road to be a hazard for motorists and the barriers were put up as a safety measure.

The Lavonia City Council approved the Jones Street Traffic Change ordinance in December 2022 but had to wait for approval from the Georgia Department of Transportation before moving forward.

Umbehant said the orange cones will eventually be removed. After that, access to the Jones St. Ext. will be from Grogan St. but only for parking.

So, there is no longer access to the Wright Credit Union building drive-thru teller from Jones St. Ext. However, access to the Wright Credit Union drive-thru teller windows is still available from West Ave.