MIDWAY — The character area for most of Midway is not expected to change over the course of the next several years — even as more growth is headed to the area.
Liberty Consolidated Planning Commission staff met with Midway area residents, including those from Lake George and Isle of Wight, at a June 24 community planning meeting. The LCPC is making the rounds across the county to prepare for the 2026 comprehensive plan.
“We’re definitely seeing growth in Liberty County, and that underscores the need to plan for growth,” LCPC executive director Jeff Ricketson said at the meeting.
The 2020 Census put the county’s population at 65,274, and a 2022 estimate pegged it at 68,000. By 2030, Ricketson said, there could be 78,000 people living in Liberty County.
Midway has grown, Ricketson added, and the building of 250 homes on Isle of Wight in the Alder Grove subdivision is underway. That sparked concern from residents on traffic, especially along Isle of Wight and its intersection with Highway 84.
More construction and traffic is expected to occur at the Highway 84 and Interstate 95 interchange, where two large gas station and convenience centers are planned, one to go on the southeast side of the interchange and the other on the southwest side.
The Jones convenience center, which also is expected to include The Love’s travel center, on the southeast side, is expected to be about 15,300 square feet with two restaurants.
The LCPC is continuing to review plans for both of those and Ricketson said it is likely Jones will break ground in a couple of months while the Love’s could start construction some time early in 2025.
Ricketson said there are on average 40,000 vehicles a day on I-95 going through Liberty County.
But much of the current zonings and land use aren’t likely to change, Ricketson said, adding most of the new commercial building will take place along Highway 84 between the railroad tracks and exit 76.
“I don’t really anticipate there is going to be a need for a lot of change,” he said.
Ricketson also addressed questions on the potential of the county bringing water and sewer service to the Lake George/Limerick Road area and on the extension of Hinesville’s bus service to the east end. He said he did not know of any county plans to bring water and sewer service out to those areas and to extend the bus service to the Midway Industrial Park or Tradeport East requires substantial funding.
Some residents worried about the future of their subdivision in Lake George and if it would remain zoned that way, and Ricketson said it did not seem feasible for a venture to buy up to as many as 300 homes for another zoning use.
He said the Tradeport East area remains attractive to industries because of how close it is to I-95.
“The market is going to determine where they want to be,” he said. “They want to be in a proximity to the interstate.”
The next set of community planning meetings will take place for the Walthourville area on July 22 at the Liberty College and Career Academy. Other meetings will include Allenhurst, Gum Branch and there will be three meetings for Hinesville residents. The final meeting is set for January 27, 2025, for the area east of I-95.
Comprehensive plans are done every 10 years, and the current comp plan was adopted in 2016, meaning the next one has to be concluded by 2026. Ricketson said he hopes they can start the adoption process for the next comp plan in 2025.