ATLANTA — Po Biddy Crossroads will be back on the map. So will Hopeulikit and Doctortown.
The 488 communities wiped from this year's version of Georgia's highway map will be restored, the state's department of transportation said Wednesday.
"These communities are as much a part of the fabric of our state as our major metropolitan areas," said Vicki Gavalas, the department's spokeswoman.
The towns were erased from the map after the transportation department decided it wanted a clearer, more legible version of the map to hand out for free at visitor centers and tourism hotspots.
The move led to an outcry among some small-town officials, who said the erasure of places like Cloudland, Poetry Tulip and Chattoogaville were an insult to rural residents.
News of the cartographic change prompted a flood of map-related letters and phone calls to the governor's office, as well as a number of complaints from legislators.
"We're glad that they've seen the light and put it back on there," said Dennis Holt, who led an effort to restore the name of western Georgia's Hickory Level.
"Our concern is: Will they do this again? We'll be waiting, we'll be watching."