The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) has acknowledged that its proposed detour during the construction of the SR 316 interchange with Jimmy Daniell Road may result in increased traffic in the Deerbrook/Silverleaf neighborhood.
The posted detour from the construction of the interchange would bypass those neighborhoods and follow Atlanta Highway and U.S. 78/Monroe Highway, Eric Duff, State Environmental Administrator with GDOT, informed residents of those neighborhoods.
GDOT would use “enhanced signage” to “encourage traffic to follow the posted” route, Duff said.
Drivers would be able to use streets running through Deerbrook/Silverleaf as an alternative, he said, and one option would be for Oconee County to construct speed breaks or speed bumps in the residential streets.
Duff was responding to 13 respondents who offered comments during the Oct. 25 to Nov. 15, 2023, period as part of the Public Information Open House regarding the proposed detour.
GDOT held the hearing after identifying the potential need for a nearly four-mile-long detour during construction of the grade-separated, diamond interchange on SR 316 at Jimmy Daniell Road.
Traffic on Jimmy Daniell Road wanting to access westbound SR 316 would be required to travel north on Jimmy Daniell Road and then New Jimmy Daniel Road, westbound on Atlanta Highway, and then southbound on U.S. 78 to reach SR 316.
All west-bound access to SR 316 at Jimmy Daniell Road would be closed for a maximum of 45 days during construction if the decision is made to incorporate the detour into the design of the project.
Reason For Detour
The need for the detour had not been identified at the time of the public outreach that GDOT conducted in June of 2022 on the bundle of projects that will be let together for Jimmy Daniell Road, Virgil Langford Road, and the Oconee Connector, Duff acknowledged.
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| Detour And GDOT Letter |
Full interchanges are planned for Jimmy Daniell Road and the Connector, and a flyover is planned for Virgil Langford Road.
Construction is scheduled to begin in 2024.
Over the past year, the design for the Jimmy Daniell interchange “has been further developed, and the approach for how to stage traffic during construction has been evaluated,” Duff wrote in the four-page response to citizen input.
“During construction of the new, elevated Jimmy Daniell Road alignment over SR 316,” he wrote, “traffic would be maintained on the existing Jimmy Daniell Road.”
“Access from Jimmy Daniell Road to SR 316 westbound would need to be temporarily closed because the westbound ramp from Jimmy Daniell Road to SR 316 would be constructed across the existing Jimmy Daniell Road alignment,” he continued.
“Prior to completion of that westbound ramp construction, traffic would need to be shifted off of the existing Jimmy Daniell Road alignment onto the new, elevated Jimmy Daniell Road alignment over SR 316,” Duff said.
“The last portion of the westbound ramp could then be constructed across the existing Jimmy Daniell Road alignment without disrupting the through traffic movements on the new, elevated Jimmy Daniell Road alignment,” Duff wrote.
Duration Of Detour
Duff said that the temporary closure of the Jimmy Daniell Road turning movement onto SR 316 westbound is anticipated to last no more than 45 days.
Through-traffic on SR 316 and through-traffic on Jimmy Daniell Road would be maintained throughout construction.
All turning movements except for Jimmy Daniell Road onto SR 316 westbound would remain open throughout construction, he said.
The posted detour would direct westbound traffic that would ordinarily access SR 316 at Jimmy Daniell Road to use that road and New Jimmy Daniel Road in Athens/Clarke County to travel to the Atlanta Highway to connect with SR 316 at the U.S. 78/Monroe Highway interchange.
Responses To Open House
The open house on the proposed detour was virtual, and Duff reported that GDOT recorded 365 page views during the period.
Four of the 13 comments dealt with the impact of the detour on the adjoining Deerbrook and Silverleaf neighborhoods, both of which are entirely in Oconee County.
A fifth was concerned about the impact of increased traffic at the entrance to Creekside subdivision in Athens-Clarke County.
One citizen wrote that navigation systems “will direct traffic to cut through Silverleaf and Deerbrook, a shorter route than Atlanta Highway and US 78/Monroe Highway. Drivers will ignore the Atlanta Highway and US 78/Monroe Highway detour.”
Duff wrote that “drivers would be able to use local streets” even though the signage would direct them to follow the detour along Atlanta Highway and U.S. 78.
“We have forwarded a comment along to Oconee County Public Works Department for the consideration of the construction of speed breaks or speed humps,” he said.
One citizen wrote that “I would support this detour if the Georgia DOT would install and maintain speed breaks or speed humps to slow speeders already racing through our neighborhood and to deter traffic on Silverleaf Road, Arizona Bend, and Julian Drive.”
“These roadways are outside of the proposed project construction limits and are not on state routes,” Duff wrote. “The construction of speed breaks or speed humps on these roadways would not be part of the proposed interchange construction project.”
Other Comments And GDOT Summary
Another writer suggested that the median break at Julian Drive should be closed to keep traffic from traveling through the Deerbrook and Silverleaf neighborhoods.
“No construction activities are proposed at Julian Drive as part of the Jimmy Daniell Road Interchange project,” Duff wrote. “However, there is a future grade separation project under consideration for Julian Road (Drive) at SR 316.”
“The amount of rerouted traffic on Jimmy Daniell from SR 316 to Highway 78 would be enormous during the detour time line,” one person wrote, “causing excessive difficulty for residents at Creekside Subdivision.”
“We would only be able to exit the community and drive towards Highway 78. Traffic flow would prohibit left turns,” the person wrote.
“The traffic projections indicate less than 1,075 vehicles per day would be unable to turn from Jimmy Daniell Road north/southbound onto SR 316 westbound and would be directed onto the detour route using Jimmy Daniell Road northbound,” Duff wrote.
Duff wrote at the top of his Dec. 14 letter and summary that, “As the project develops, the proposed project plan may need to be revised.”
“If there are significant changes to what was shown on the project’s website, there will be additional public outreach,” he said.
“If no significant changes are proposed, the project will proceed to procurement for a Design-Build team in the Fall of 2024,” he said.
Dials Mill Road, Dials Mill Extenson, McNutt Creek Road
Considerable uncertainty remains about GDOT plans for the western most intersections on SR 316 in Oconee County.
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| New Web Site Launched By Citizen https://www.oconee316.org/ |
In July, SueAnne Decker, GDOT District PreConstruction Engineer, confirmed that a “tight urban design” full interchange will be built at McNutt Creek Road and that plans are in the works for an interchange at Dials Mill Extension.
Even though groundbreaking has taken place for the Georgia Division of Driver Services Customer Service Center on McNutt Creek Road south of SR 316, no plans for that interchange have been made public.
In the meantime, Sharen Thelen, president of the Dials Mill Plantation Property Owners Association, has launched a web site to encourage public involvement in the planning for these intersections.
The web site contains information about the projects and urges citizens to “Contact Your Public Officials.”
It also says “GDOT needs to provide better opportunities for local citizens to be heard. These changes affect us in significant ways.”
4 comments:
I wish the residents of Deerbrook & Silverleaf the best of luck...
For GDOT's work on Experiment Station, the contractor (ERS) has consistently blocked one of the two entrances to my neighborhood with no heads up, no Nixel, no nothing. Has made it very difficult for school buses, forcing them to turn around in a tight space, same for older neighbors, etc. Myself and others have spoken with the contractors requesting the common courtesy of a notice...and they simply DO NOT CARE. Don't mind them working later at night with the beeping from equipment backing up & other noise, but closing off the entrance is not just a hassle, it's a safety matter.
The contractor has also ripped up & closed sidewalks around Butler's Crossing, with no word on how long they'll be closed, despite the fact that students in our neighborhood walk to & from Oconee Middle and Oconee High especially if participating afterschool activiities; those kids are out of luck, as are those who walk/jog/run.
One would think that Oconee County would have an official liaison with GDOT, to work through issues that affect county residents, a point person who represents residents, problems solves, advocates, pushes when needed, let's them know when they are screwing up and hold them to account, etc. That does not seem to be the case.
Had a brief conservation with the county's Director of Public Works, and it was pretty much, here's the name and number of the local GDOT, implied that you're on your own and bless your heart.
Our district's representative on the State Transportation, Jamie Boswell, is a realtor who represents tons of properties off state roads and highways. State Transportation Board members are nominated in private by that districts state rep's and state senators, and voted on via secret ballot. Yes, in the yer 2023, there are still government secret ballots with no formal application to anyone interested on serving, no official nomination process. I'm curious to see his response to our neighborhood's concerns. And I hope Deerbrook & Silverleaf residents have better luck with GDOT and its contractors than the neighborhoods off Experiment Station.
“The traffic projections indicate less than 1,075 vehicles per day would be unable to turn from Jimmy Daniell Road north/southbound onto SR 316 westbound and would be directed onto the detour route using Jimmy Daniell Road northbound,” Duff wrote.
I live in the Silverleaf Subdivision and provided comment to the DOT on the additional traffic flow that is potentially being rerouted through our neighborhood via driver's GPS. This is already a problem today (drivers by passing 316/Jimmmy Daniell intersection via Silverleaf) before the construction starts. Potentially additional traffic of up to 1075 cars is a safety risk that the DOT doesn't grasp.
To ignore the concerns of and impact on Silverleaf and other neighborhoods along Jimmy Daniel shows a high degree degree of hubris. Essentially Magee says, "We didn't budget for the necessary speed bumps so we're not going to consider doing them." That's not really good enough.
I still fail to see the importance of this project. The light at Jimmy Daniels slows traffic before it reaches the Connector.
I wish the residents of Deerbrook & Silverleaf the best of luck...
For GDOT's work on Experiment Station, the contractor (ERS) has consistently blocked one of the two entrances to my neighborhood with no heads up, no Nixle, no nothing. Has made it very difficult for school buses, forcing them to turn around in a tight space, same for older neighbors, etc. Myself and others have spoken with the contractors requesting the common courtesy of a notice...and they simply DO NOT CARE. Don't mind them working later at night with the beeping from equipment backing up & other noise, but closing off the entrance is not just a hassle, it's a safety matter.
The contractor has also ripped up & closed sidewalks around Butler's Crossing, with no word on how long they'll be closed, despite the fact that students in our neighborhood walk to & from Oconee Middle and Oconee High, especially if participating in afterschool activities; those kids are out of luck, as are those who walk/jog/run.
One would think that Oconee County would have an official liaison with GDOT, to work through issues that affect county residents, a point person who represents residents, problem solves, advocates, pushes when needed, let's them know when they are screwing up and hold them to account, etc. That does not seem to be the case.
Had a brief conservation with the county's Director of Public Works, and it was pretty much, here's the name and number of the local GDOT, implied that you're on your own and bless your heart.
Our district's representative on the State Transportation, Jamie Boswell, is a realtor who represents tons of properties off state roads and highways. State Transportation Board members are nominated in private by that district's state rep's and state senators, and voted on via secret ballot. Yes, in the year 2023, there are still government secret ballots with no formal application available for anyone interested in serving, no official nomination process. I'm curious to see his response to our neighborhood's concerns. And I hope Deerbrook & Silverleaf residents have better luck with GDOT and its contractors than the neighborhoods off Experiment Station.
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