Calhoun may have five Interstate exits in the relatively near future; the Union Grove Road/ Interstate 75 intersection proposal is one step closer to reality.

City council voted Monday to sign an agreement with the Georgia Department of Transportation for traffic signal and telephone service for the project.

The city will fund telephone services and electricity; DOT will provide traffic signals, installation and maintenance, explained City Administrator Eddie Peterson.

Mayor Jimmy Palmer described the project as “something we’ve been working on for a long time.”

The Union Grove interchange has been on the books at the state level for several years, but DOT projects of this magnitude are notoriously slow-moving.

Local officials are optimistic, however, at this stage of the process.

“I have a feeling it is going to happen,” Peterson said Monday.

Also Monday, council members voted to abandon Yellow Jacket Drive from the municipal street system.

The three private property owners on the street were notified of the city’s intent to abandon, in accordance with city ordinance, City Attorney Bill Bailey stated.

Each property owner’s entrance/ exit point to Yellow Jacket Drive will still be usable, but the direction drivers turn from these outlets may be modified, he explained. The city school system will now maintain the road, according to Bailey.

Calhoun is now officially operating under a two-department system.

After months of discussion, city council members approved Monday the application of a system that will require the city administrator and utilities general manager to report directly to the mayor and council on matters concerning general government and utilities, respectively.

Although the city has been functioning in this manner for several years, the system was not officially in place until Monday. Council members considered several organizational options during the past few months before deciding on this one.