Traffic on the Oconee Connector will be greatly restricted beginning at 7 p.m. today (9/18/2026) as Archer Western Construction begins work on mid-span vertical supports for the two bridges that will carry SR 316 over the Connector.
The current four lanes of traffic now moving through the intersection in each direction will be cut to two lanes, one for through traffic and one for left-hand turns.
At present, the Connector has two through lanes and two left-hand turn lanes in each direction.
Right-hand turn lanes will remain operational in each direction.
Flashing signs have warned of what the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) is calling a “traffic shift” for about two weeks, and a news release by GDOT on Thursday (9/17/2026) said the change will take place today “weather permitting.”
The news release did not specify what the "shift" will mean, but Oconee County Commission Chair John Daniell said after the release went out that the “traffic shift” actually will eliminate a lane of through traffic and a turn lane in each direction.
According to the news release, the restrictions “will remain in place until bridge construction is complete.” It did not give an estimate of the amount of time that will be required.
Change In Design
In September of last year, GDOT announced that it had accepted an Alternative Technical Concept (ATC) presented by Archer Western for the Oconee Connector SR 316 interchange.
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| Sketch Of Current Plan For SR 316 And Connector Interchange |
Instead of the Oconee Connector flying over SR 316, as had originally been proposed, Archer Western is constructing an eastbound and a westbound bridge to elevate SR 316 over the Oconee Connector.
The change removes the need for a detour affecting the Oconee Connector during construction staging, GDOT said.
Construction of the “mid-span bridge bents,” or vertical supports, will begin once the traffic is reduced, according to the news release on Thursday.
“The shift will allow crews to safely construct mid-span bridge bents as part of the interchange project,” according to the news release.
This reduction in traffic flowing through the Connector is taking place at the same time Jimmy Daniell Road is closed at each side of SR 316 to accommodate construction of the bridge and ramps that will carry Jimmy Daniell Road over SR 316.
That closure began on Sept. 14 and is expected to last about six months.
Virgil Langford Road at present does not cross SR 316, and construction of the bridge that will carry that roadway over SR 316 to connect the two segments of that road is far from complete.
Commission Chair Daniell, at the Board of Commissioners Town Hall meeting in June, said the only way to avoid the congestion on SR 316 in the comments months was to “ just stay away from there.”
Construction on the intersections at Jimmy Daniell Road, Virgil Langford Road, and the Connector is projected to last at least through the end of 2028.
The Oconee Connector and SR 316 interchange has long been one of the busiest in the county and connects traffic from Watkinsville and the urbanized eastern part of the county with the county’s large commercial hub along the Connector and Epps Bridge Parkway.
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| Picture Released By GDOT On Thursday Of Connector And SR 316 Interchange: SR 316 On The Horizontal Line University Cancer and Blood Center in Foreground |
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