Liberty County commissioners hope a subdivision under construction will tip the state Department of Transportation’s numbers in their favor.

Commissioners approved a contract with ATLAS to conduct a study to see if a traffic signal is warranted at Highway 84 and the western starting point of Independence Parkway, also known as the Hinesville bypass.

A warrant study is needed — and it also must show a signal is warranted — before the state DOT will agree to locate a signal.

When the first study was conducted, the count was seven cars short, County Administrator Joe Mosley said.

“With the subdivision under construction, we feel strongly it will warrant a traffic light there,” he said. “In order to move this forward, we have to have the warrant study.”

Should the DOT give the traffic signal — which would be about a halfmile west of the light at 84 and Highway 119 — the design and installation costs would be borne by the county. The county can use transportation special purpose local option sales tax proceeds, or TSPLOST, for the work and for the warrant study.

Commissioners also approved the final plat for phase 2A of the Alder Grove subdivision off Isle of Wight Road. This phase, which will be 51 single-family units on 12 acres, will be part of a phase of 117 units. Plans call for about 255 units in all to be built, with sizes ranging from 4,800 to 8,000 square feet in the phase commissioners approved at their meeting Tuesday.

In phase 2A, there will be 20 patio lots and two executive style lots, with 19 small square footage lots and 10 larger square footage lots.

The City of Midway is providing water and sewer.

While there is only one entrance into the subdivision, builders said there will be a second entrance.

Commissioners also accepted dedication of .42 miles of new roads, along with stormwater improvements and associated easements and drainage easements for functional maintenance of a detention pond. There also are letters of credit on hand for paving and striping the roads and putting in sidewalks, along with letters of credit to do street maintenance for the first two years. Utilities, stormwater and curb and gutter have been installed.

While the planned unit development for Alder Grove was approved and established before the current unified development ordinances were adopted and put into effect, Chris Herold of M.E. Sack Engineering said accommodations for common areas will be made.

“It’s not quite as much as the new UDO requires,” he told commissioners, “but it’s there.”