More than 300 people turned out at the Oconee County Administrative Building on Thursday to get close-up views of the three routes the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) is offering as alternatives for a truck bypass linking SR 15 with U.S. 441 south of Watkinsville.
The crowd started gathering at 4:30 for the 5 p.m. opening of the key exhibits in the Commission Chambers of the Administrative Building, and GDOT officials opened the doors to the Chambers 15 minutes early to accommodate the crowd.
The crowd thinned as the evening progressed, but about 20 people were still standing and talking around the easels holding the displayed routes when the Public Information Open House (PIOH) ended at 7 p.m.
GDOT did not indicate which of the three routes it prefers. The Open House program did not include an oral presentation either by GDOT or its engineering firm, NV5.
Representatives of GDOT and NV5 were present at the displays to answer questions.
Participants could express their opinions to those representatives but were invited to make comments in written form and leave them in a designated box at a corner of the room to create a public record of the meeting.
Bruce Anderson, GDOT District 2 Program Manager, said that funding has been allocated only for the scoping study that led to creation of the alternatives and that he has no schedule for right of way purchase or actual construction of a bypass.
GDOT says it will accept public feedback on the routes until April 27.
Format Of Open House
As citizens entered the atrium of the Administrative Building on Thursday, they confronted a series of four panels on easels providing background on the bypass project.
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| GDOT Representative Sam Williams With Citizen 4/16/2026 |
A fact sheet given out to those who entered the Commission Chambers further explained the reason for the PIOH.
Once inside the room participants encountered two identical panels on easels, both showing all three alternative routes being proposed for the bypass.
Moving left to right across an arc in the Chambers were three panels, each providing details of one of the three routes.
The Chambers quickly became very full and very noisy after the doors were opened, and only a small number of those present were moving systematically from alternative to alternative.
The fact sheet told those who picked up a copy that “The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) is seeking feedback about a proposed solution to provide an alternate route around the city of Watkinsville to relieve traffic congestion in downtown Watkinsville and enhance connectivity between U.S. 441/U.S. 129/State Route (SR) 24 and SR 15/Greensboro Highway for truck traffic.”
The fact sheet listed current conditions along the SR 15 corridor and along the U.S. 441 corridor, concluding that there is “poor connectivity” between the two routes “for truck traffic.”
Approximately 19,000 vehicles per day pass through downtown Watkinsville on SR 15, according to the sheet, with 9 percent being trucks.
With the No Build option, there will be “continued and increased congestion in downtown Watkinsville,” and “downtown and area businesses and residents would continue to be negatively impacted,” the sheet stated, and there would be a “continued lack of enhanced connectivity between SR 15 and U.S. 441,” the sheet states.
Four Options
All three of the alternatives, shown on the GDOT web site for the project, are for two lanes of travel connecting SR 15 with U.S. 441.
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| Citizens Review Alternative 3 4/16/2026 |
Alternative 1 is located closest to Watkinsville. It includes three roundabouts, one at SR 15 approximately one mile north of Flat Rock Road, one where the new bypass intersects Colham Ferry Road, and one where the new bypass joins with U.S. 441 where South Main Street currently intersections U.S. 441.
One stop-sign intersection would be constructed where the new bypass intersections Old Bishop Road.
Preliminary cost estimate for Alternative 1 is $22.2 million, not including utility costs.
Alternative 2, shown in Panel 1 and Panel 2 at the meeting and on the GDOT web site, also would have three roundabouts, the first at SR 15 and Flat Rock Road, one at Colham Ferry Road, and one at U.S. 441 south of Thomas Farm Road.
One stop-sign intersection would be constructed where the new bypass intersections Old Bishop Road.
Preliminary cost estimate for Alternative 2 is $29.8 million, not including utility costs.
Alternative 3, shown in Panel 1 and Panel 2 at the meeting and on the GDOT web site, is similar to Alternative 2 but further south. It would have three roundabouts, one at SR 15 and Flat Rock Road, one at Colham Ferry Road, and one at U.S. 441 further south of Thomas Farm Road.
One stop-sign intersection would be constructed where the new bypass intersections Old Bishop Road.
Preliminary cost estimate for Alternative 3 is $29.6 million, not including utility costs.
Gathered Citizens
The fact sheet outlines the costs and benefits in rural versus urban terms.
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| Initial Board With All Three Alternatives 4/16/2026 |
“The surrounding project area for the new bypass roadway is rural forested, agricultural, and private residential properties,” the sheet states.
The proposed bypass solution will “reduce congestion and improve pedestrian safety in downtown Watkinsville.” It also will improve connectivity of SR 15 and U.S. 441 for truck traffic.
Representatives of those south of Watkinsville most negatively impacted by the routes, including the Hardigree family and the Thomas family, were present.
Representatives of the Athens Land Trust, which holds a conservation easement on the Lori Breedlove property funded in part by the county’s Farmland Protection Program, was present, as was Breedlove herself.
None of the impacted citizens was heard asking that the roadway go through their property.
Watkinsville Mayor Brian Brodrick and several council members also were present.
Funding for the scoping study was secured by former House District 121 Republican Rep. Marcus Wiedower at the request of Watkinsville officials.
Current Status
District 2 Program Manager Anderson told me at the meeting on Thursday evening that he does not have any schedule for moving forward with right of way acquisition or construction.
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| Leaving Comments 4/16/2026 |
According to the Preconstruction Status Report on the GDOT web site, $2.5 million has been approved for engineering and another $500,000 has been allocated solely for the scoping study.
No money is shown as allocated for right of way or construction.
NV5, a firm based in Hollywood, Fla., has been awarded a contract by GDOT to lead the SR 15 bypass project, providing services such as environmental studies, roadway and bridge design, and right of way acquisition.
The fact sheet distributed at the meeting on Thursday night states that “After the public meeting is held, feedback will be assessed, revisions may occur to the proposed plan initially brought to the public or the no build alternative will be selected.”
“Once a Concept Report is approved, the project alignment would be refined,” it continues. “If major changes occur to what was previously shown to the community, additional public outreach would occur.”
“If no major changes are proposed, the project would advance to right-of-way acquisition and into final design,” the sheet states. “After all right-of-way acquisition occurs, project design is finalized, and the project would advance to construction.”
Citizens can offer comment until the deadline of April 27 via the GDOT website.
“All comments will become part of the project’s official record and will be responded to by June 30, 2026,” the fact sheet states.
Anderson said he “wasn’t surprised by the large turnout” on Thursday. “I was just was surprised people turned out so early,” he added.
GDOT ran out of fact sheets about 30 minutes into the meeting and had to get more copied.
The official count, based on a mechanical counter used by a GDOT representative, was 297, with some people almost certainly missed.
Video
The video clips below, which I and Harold Thompson recorded, as a favor for me, give a sense of the size and loudness of the crowd.
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