A public meeting has been set for April 15 on the proposed reconstruction of Ga. 400 at Ga. 53 in Dawson County.

Plans are being developed for a “continuous flow intersection,” which was one of six options the Georgia Department of Transportation considered to fix the busy intersection, said Teri Pope, spokeswoman for the DOT’s Gainesville-based District 1.

It would move northbound traffic wanting to turn left at the intersection across lanes containing southbound traffic and into lanes heading west on Ga. 53. The case will be the same for southbound Ga. 400 traffic heading east on Ga. 53.

Traffic signals several hundred feet back from the intersection would control the operation, essentially taking left-turning vehicles out of the main traffic flow and, hopefully, avoiding backups that now nag the area.

Also, the DOT is proposing to add dual left-turn lanes longer than what is in place now, as well as dual through lanes and a right-turn lane.

The plan — a first for Georgia — has an estimated price tag of $12 million to $14 million, compared to $120 million for a full-blown interchange.

The DOT has scheduled buying right of way in fiscal 2011, which starts July 1. That process should take about nine months to complete.

At the open house, Georgia DOT engineers will be available to discuss the proposed project.

No formal presentation is planned.

“The plans are very preliminary. We want to include the community in the process now so we incorporate their ideas into the plan,” DOT preconstruction engineer Robert Mahoney said.

After the open house, plans can be viewed online or at the Georgia DOT District Office located at 2505 Athens Highway in Gainesville.