The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) is moving toward approval of a new concept plan that would close completely access of Julian Drive to and from SR 316.
Under the plan, Julian Drive traffic from the north would be blocked from entering SR 316 and instead would travel to US 78 via a new road parallel to SR 316 that would be an extension of Tall Oaks Road.
U.S. 78 provides access to both eastbound and westbound lanes of SR 316.
Julian Drive south of SR 316 would end in a cul-de-sac without access to SR 316.
The plan currently under review is different from the one included in the Final Report of the State Route 316 Planning Study released by GDOT in November of last year.
That study had proposed that Julian Drive fly over SR 316 without access to the divided highway.
That proposal had replaced an earlier plan for right-in, right-out access to SR 316 from both the southern and northern sides of the highway.
At present, Julian Drive crosses SR 316 at a median break in the divided highway.
The new concept plan is expected to be approved in the next six months.
New Plan Released
The new plan was released to at least one person who attended the Public Information Open House GDOT held on Jan. 22 at Mars Hill Baptist Church. The Open House was to for public input on the detour plans for Jimmy Daniell Road.
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| From GDOT Transforming SR 316 Web Site |
That interchange, east of the Julian Drive, currently is undergoing reconstruction, with detours for traffic entering from the north and south expected to last six months.
Kyle Collins, Communications Program Manager at GDOT, confirmed in an email on Feb. 4 that closure of Julian Drive access to SR 316 and construction of a Tall Oaks Road extension are the current plan.
Oconee County Board of Commissioners Chair John Daniell said in an email message, also on Feb. 4, that he was aware of the current proposal.
In fact, Daniell said, development of an access road back to 78 was mentioned at the very first meeting he had several years ago on the Julian Drive interchange.
“During the first meeting,” he said, “the plan was to totally close Julian Drive at 316. We objected to that option.”
“Additional discussion included right-in/right-out and an access road,” he wrote in his email. GDOT subsequently proposed that Julian Drive fly over SR 316 without access, he said.
“My understanding is a concept is being developed for the access road, and the fly over is off the table,” he said. “All this could change as it works through the concept process.”
Tall Oaks Road
Tall Oaks Road currently dead ends at Bell Road on the west and at the driveway to a single-family home on the east.
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| Old Plans Showing Flyover |
Bell Road is bisected by SR 316 and does not have access to that road. It terminates at Labrador Lane north of SR 316, which is a dead end road.
South of SR 316 Bell Road ends at its intersection with Mars Hill Road.
To reach U.S. 78, an extension of Tall Oaks Road that is parallel to SR 316 would have to cross two large, undeveloped tracts of land.
In the State Route 316 Planning Study, the proposal that Julian Drive cross over but not provide access to SR 316 was one of the key modifications of previously existing plans for interchanges on the divided highway. The plan prior to release of that study was a right-in, right-out interchange north and south of SR 316.
The Final Report noted that the interchange was less than a mile east of the SR 316 interchange with U.S. 78. Estimated cost of that grade separation with a bridge connecting Julian Drive over SR 316 was $14.5 million.
The Planning Study did not offer construction dates, but it did propose that the Julian Drive Interchange be completed before work is done to upgrade the interchanges at McNutt Creek Road, Mars Hill Road, and SR Loop 10.
The current GDOT web site is listing construction of the flyover proposed in that Planning Study in 2030.
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