Republican gubernatorial candidates are sparring over the U.S. 411 Connector project in advance of the July 20 primary election.

Last week John Oxendine promised attendees at a Greater Rome Chamber of Commerce gathering the long-awaited connector would be built if he were elected.

This week Karen Handel linked it to the controversial Northern Arc project that would have connected Interstate 75 and Interstate 85 — and called for the route to be reconfigured.

Nathan Deal weighed in Friday in support of the project.

“I have said many times that I will be the first governor to drive on a completed U.S. 411 from I-75 to Rome,” Deal said in prepared statement. “The people of Northwest Georgia have waited too long for this connection that will have economic development benefits for the region.”

Handel received at least $12,200 in campaign contributions from a family opposed to the connector. Randall Rollins and Gary Rollins each donated $6,100 to Handel’s primary election campaign.

A lawsuit by the Bartow County landowners in 1992 stymied the first attempt to build the connector. The family also is opposing the current incarnation of the route, which received construction approval from the Federal Highway Administration in October 2008.

Click here to see Handel's campaign finance report disclosing the Rollins' contributions.

Handel also received a donation of $256.44 worth of refreshments for a November 2009 campaign event from Jeff Anderson, founder of the Northern Arc Task Force.

Anderson bought half-page ads in a handful of regional newspapers this week that attempt to link the connector project with the Arc that was killed in 2002 following public outcry.

Handel’s spokesman Dan McLagan said the donations were not a factor in the candidate’s call to revisit the 411 Connector route.

“Of course not,” he said. “We have contributors on the other side who are upset with us.”

McLagan said Route G, which would hit I-75 at Ga. 61, is a shorter, less-expensive option that could be built faster than the chosen Route D-VE, which meets I-75 at Ga. 20.

“It’s an illogical choice, except it preserves the Northern Arc as GDOT always meant to do,” he said.

On Friday, Oxendine reiterated his support for the selected route, saying, “anyone who would equate the 411 Connector with the Northern Arc is not familiar with the project.”

Deal said GDOT professionals spent years weighing all the factors before settling on the best route for Floyd and Bartow drivers.

“Trying to stir up emotions about abandoned projects near the proposed I-75 interchange is nothing but political posturing and serves no useful purpose,” he said.

Documents in the October 2008 Record of Decision approving the Ga. 20 route contend it is worth the extra expense because it fulfills both aims of the new road: relieving congestion on Bartow surface streets and providing a smooth link from U.S. 411 to I-75.

McLagan, however, rejected the report’s findings that drivers heading south to Atlanta are unlikely to use a connector that runs north to Ga. 61 instead of the southerly U.S. 41 to the Ga. 20 ramp.

“You’d have to believe that people would rather drive on a road with stoplights rather than one that is a straight shot,” he said.

He also said the environmental impact of the chosen route remains a bone of contention, despite an approval that took five years to attain.

“That is something that will no doubt be revisited by groups,” he said.

GDOT Commissioner Vance Smith said Thursday the rest of the route is settled.

A public hearing is scheduled from 4 to 7 p.m. March 18 at the Cartersville Civic Center to accept comments on a slight modification of the eastern end of the route where it meets I-75.

Deputy Editor Mike Colombo contributed to this report.

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