The previously announced closure of access to SR 316 at Jimmy Daniell Road and resulting detour is scheduled to begin on Sept. 14 and remain in place for approximately six months, the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) has announced.
The intersection of Meriweather Drive and Jimmy Daniell Road also will be closed, GDOT has said. Previous discussion of the closure and detour did not include that feature.
Barricades will be placed at the closure of Meriweather Drive, Joe Schulman, District 6 Communications Officer for GDOT, said on Wednesday (8/26/2026), but emergency vehicles will be able to access the road.
Oconee County Commission Chair John Daniell announced the closure and detour schedule at the Commission meeting on Tuesday evening and said after that meeting that Oconee County will be talking with Clarke County about assistance with emergency services during the closure of access to Jimmy Daniell Road from SR 316.
Oconee County Fire Station Number 8 is on Virgil Langford Road south of SR 316. At present, Virgil Langford Road does not cross SR 316, though a flyover is being constructed as part of the SR 316 interchange improvements.
Oconee County and Clarke County have mutual aid agreements for emergency services, Daniell said.
The detour will send Jimmy Daniell Road traffic north of the interchange to Atlanta Highway and south of the interchange to Mars Hill Road to access U.S. 78 and SR 316.
PIOH And Outcome
The initial contract for construction of the Jimmy Daniell Road interchange with SR 316 allowed for a 45-day detour for traffic from Jimmy Daniell Road seeking to enter SR 316 westbound.
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| Detour Map |
Contractor Archer Western and GDOT held a Public Information Open House (PIOH) on Jan. 22 after Archer Western and its design team determined that a six-month full closure of the interchange was “more viable.” That planned change necessitated the meeting.
Schulman said in a telephone conversation on Wednesday that, following that January PIOH, representatives of the Jennings Mill Homeowners Association expressed “concerns regarding safety, construction phasing, and through traffic” and “recommended that Meriweather Drive be closed at Jimmy Daniell Road.”
Schulman said the county was involved in the discussions, resulting in an approved “traffic management plan” that added the closure of Meriweather Road at Jimmy Daniell Road to general traffic.
Oconee County Administrator Justin Kirouac said in an email exchange on Wednesday that he was involved in those discussions.
The proposed closure of Meriweather Drive also was discussed with the Oconee County Fire Department, the Sheriff's Office, and Oconee County Schools, he said.
Kirouac said that Archer Western “requested the ability to close Meriweather Drive in order to tie in Meriweather Drive to the realigned Jimmy Daniell Road.”
“The intersection of Meriweather Drive and Jimmy Daniell is being raised approximately 3 feet,” he continued. “The HOA for Jennings Mill is in support of the closure. Archer Western believes the closure will allow them to speed up the construction and reduce the closure time,” Kirouac said.
During the closure of Meriweather Drive at Jimmy Daniell Road, access to the Jennings Mill subdivision will be via Meriweather Drive from Jennings Mill Road.
Detour Details
The detour calls for traffic on Jimmy Daniell Road north of SR 316, beginning at the intersection of Jimmy Daniell Road and Meriweather Drive, to follow Jimmy Daniell Road north for approximately 1.5 miles.
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| Clip Of Interchange Design |
Vehicles will then travel west on Atlanta Highway for approximately 0.8 miles and turn south onto US 78 for approximately 1 mile to reach SR 316.
Traffic on Jimmy Daniell Road south of SR 31, beginning at the intersection of Jimmy Daniell Road and SR 316, will follow Jimmy Daniell Road south for approximately 0.6 miles.
Vehicles will then turn south onto Virgil Langford Road for approximately 340 feet and turn west onto Mars Hill Road for approximately 2.4 miles. At that point, traffic will turn right on US 78, intersecting with SR 316 after approximately 1,500 feet.
“During the detour period, access to residential driveways, local businesses, and public facilities will be maintained,” according to the GDOT announcement.
The announcement also states “that popular navigation applications may not reflect the detour changes immediately, so relying on official signage is advised.”
Residents of the Silver Leaf and Deerbrook subdivisions north of SR 316 have expressed concern that the closure will result in people cutting through their neighborhoods to access SR 316.
Daniell said on Tuesday night that GDOT has no ability to block access to those subdivisions because Silver Leaf Road is outside the project boundary for the SR 316 intersection improvement.
The SR 316 at Jimmy Daniell Road Interchange Project includes removal of the existing at-grade crossing and construction of a grade-separated, diamond interchange with a single-lane roundabout at the northern ramp terminal and another single-lane roundabout at the southern ramp terminal.
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