Scenic but twisty, Union Church Road in South Hall is poised to get some safety improvements.

The Georgia Department of Transportation is planning a project that involves realignment, shoulder widening and other safety improvements along the 10-mile stretch.

“This project is intended to reduce crash frequency and severity along this rural county road,” DOT spokesman Mohamed Arafa said.

The road not only will be straighter but flatter in areas “that are deemed geometrically substandard,” he said.

Rumble strips will be added to road edges “as a countermeasure for reducing roadway departure crashes,” Arafa said.

And the culvert at Deaton Creek will be extended and a guardrail added, he said.

The work, announced by the DOT in a recent legal notice, will be done along the full length of Union Church — from Winder Highway/Ga. 53 in Chestnut Mountain to Old Winder Highway/Ga. 211 near Braselton.

A time frame for the work wasn’t available Thursday.

The road serves as a main artery for South Hall traffic, with the landscape dotted by older homes, subdivisions and large plots of open land.

Both Ga. 53 and Ga. 211 lead to Interstate 85, with Ga. 211 also directing motorists to Northeast Georgia Medical Center Braselton off Friendship Road/Ga. 347.

It’s also a busy road for school traffic, with Chestnut Mountain Creative School of Inquiry sitting at one end.

Also, “it is the route for substantial numbers of students on their way to Flowery Branch High” off Spout Springs Road, said Will Schofield, Hall County Schools superintendent.

“Additionally, at some point in the future, I would anticipate additional construction on the Chestnut Mountain campus,” he said.