Constructions teams from Archer Western are expected to expand soon their ground clearing activities from the Jimmy Daniell Road intersection with SR 316 eastward to Virgil Langford Road and the Oconee Connector.
Oconee County Director of Public Works Jody Woodall said on Thursday that Archer Western is waiting on approval from the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) to move to the second phase of its initial work on the bundle of three SR 316 intersections.
GDOT in November of 2024 awarded a $139.4 million contact to Archer Western Construction LLC and Heath and Lineback Engineering Inc. for reconstruction of the three SR 316 interchanges. GDOT says “substantial completion” of the three projects “is anticipated for 2028.”
The intersection at Jimmy Daniell Road and SR 316 will be a multi-grade with full access to and from SR 316.
Virgil Langford Road, which currently does not cross SR 316, will be reconnected via a bridge across the divided highway, but no access to SR 316 will be possible from Virgil Langford Road.
The intersection of the Oconee Connector and SR 316 also will be multi-grade with full access to and from SR 316.
Woodall said GDOT and Archer Western “hold regular progress meetings. They invite us to the meetings as a courtesy.”
GDOT also is holding a Public Information Open House from 5 to 7 p.m. on Sept. 25 at Prince Avenue Baptist Church, 3691 Monroe Highway (U.S. 78), on its plans for changes to the intersections of SR 316 with McNutt Creek Road and Mars Hill Road.
Work Underway
Woodall said in an email exchange on Sept. 18 that Archer Western “received their notice to proceed for clearing operations on the SR 316 at Jimmy Daniell Road first and began clearing” around the first of the month.
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| Jimmy Daniell Road At SR 316 9/20/2025 |
“They anticipate the notice to proceed for the SR 316 at Virgil Langford Road and SR 316 at Oconee Connector very soon,” he said.
“GDOT and Archer Western have broken the project into two components,” Woodall said. The first is SR 316 at Jimmy Daniell Road, and the second is SR 316 at the Oconee Connector and at Virgil Langford Road.
Large piles of logs and tree and shrub debris are in the right of way at the Jimmy Daniell Road intersection at present.
Archer Western has set up construction facilities on the southeastern corner of the intersection.
Open House
GDOT is describing the open house on Sept. 25 as “a live, in-person question and answer (Q&A) session.”
GDOT is proposing to close the existing median break on SR 316 at McNutt Creek Road and construct right-in, right-out ramps to provide access to McNutt Creek Road from SR 316.
The county has a fire station on McNutt Creek Road just north of SR 316, and the state is constructing a base for the Georgia Patrol on a 13.4-acre parcel on McNutt Creek Road south of SR 316 that the county donated to the state.
Current plans are for a turnaround for emergency services along SR 316 approximately a half mile west of McNutt Creek Road.
The Department of Driver Services and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation also are planning to move to the 13.4-acre parcel south of SR 316, and east bound traffic for the offices will have to circle back from the planned multigrade intersection of SR 316 at Dials Mill Extension.
GDOT also is proposing removal of the existing right-in, right-out intersection at SR 316 and Mars Hill Road and to construct of cul-de-sacs on Mars Hill Road on the north and south sides SR 316.
GDOT is accepting public comment on the two proposals beginning with the meeting on the 25th and through Oct. 24.
Details Of Projects
The GDOT project web site for the McNutt Creek Road and Mars Hill Road intersections contains a project animation that begins at the Dials Mill Road extension and moves eastward.
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| McNutt Creek Road And SR 316 From GDOT Animation (Click To Enlarge) |
Included is a view of the McNutt Creek Road interchange with site plans for the State Patrol/Driver Services/Georgia Bureau of Investigation imposed.
Right-of-way acquisition is scheduled for this year for McNutt Creek Road, with construction scheduled for 2027.
Right-of-way acquisition is scheduled for 2028 for Mars Hill Road, with construction set for 2030.
Right-of-way is expected to cost $497,000 for the McNutt Creek Road project, with construction cost estimated at $15.4 million.
Right-of-way is estimated to cost $79,000 for the Mars Hill Road interchange, with construction at $11.9 million.
GDOT says the projects will reduce “conflict points, decreasing the potential for future crashes.”
A woman was killed in a two-vehicle accident on Sept. 5 on SR 316 at McNutt Creek Road.
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