A contract for one of Gordon County’s most long-awaited transportation projects could be let later this year, said State Rep. John Meadows, R-Calhoun.

Right-of-way acquisition has begun for an interchange on I-75 at Union Grove Road and “we’re looking at a fall let-date for the contract,” Meadows told members of the Gordon County Chamber of Commerce.

Meadows and State Sen. Charlie Bethel, R-Dalton, met Friday with members of the chanber’s Community Development Committee to update them on the 2011 legislative session.

“I met with the DOT commissioner earlier this week, and I told him I wanted to be alive when that project is completed,” said Meadows, a former Calhoun mayor. “I’ve been waiting 20 years for the Union Grove interchange to be built.”

Chamber members and local elected officials expressed their frustration with the slow pace of the project.

“The two largest carpet concerns in the world built the largest distribution points in the United States on Union Grove Road, and the state promised to build an exit for their trucks,” said Kenny Fuqua, a committee member. “There is new business (Mohawk and Shaw) would move to Gordon County if they had easier access. We need the Union Grove interchange for economic development.”

On Thursday, Todd Long, the DOT’s planning director, told local officials that money to build the project has been allocated.

“I think I can see the light at the end of the tunnel,” Meadows said.