The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) last week released detailed plans for construction of the SR 316 and Oconee Connector interchange to show SR 316 flying over the Connector rather than the Connector flying over SR 316.
GDOT announced on Thursday (Oct. 1) that bridge foundation work on the future east bound SR 316 bridge is scheduled to begin next week.
Traffic was diverted on Sept. 18 at the construction site to allow for installation of midspan bridge pillars, reducing the northbound and southbound traffic on the Connector to one left-hand turn lane, one lane flowing through the construction area, and one right-hand turn lane.
Traffic that does not turn right in the right-hand lane can travel through the interchange, meaning two lanes of traffic pass through in each direction after the right-hand turns.
GDOT on Thursday also announced that utility relocations are scheduled to begin early October at the Virgil Langford Road SR 316 interchange. Virgil Langford Road will fly over SR 316 without allowing any access to SR 316.
Work is progressing on the Jimmy Daniell Road and SR 316 interchange, according to the GDOT Oct. 1 update, and the detour in place at that intersection closing access to SR 316 “is expected to remain in place until early spring.”
The plans for the SR 316 interchange at the Connector released last week show the bridge carrying westbound traffic on SR 316 further distant from the current roadway than is the bridge carrying eastbound traffic over SR 316.
Joe Schulman, Communications Program Manager for GDOT, said last week that while the existing SR 316 at the Connector will be abandoned once the SR 316 flyovers are operational, the approaches to the existing roadbed of SR 316 from the Connector will remain unchanged.
SR 316 Flyovers
Following the Public Information Open House GDOT held on Sept. 25 on plans for the Jimmy Daniell Road interchange with SR 316, then GDOT Communications Manager Kyle Collins said plans for the SR 316 interchange with the Oconee Connector had changed.
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| Section Of New Plans For Connector Interchange (Click To Enlarge) |
The construction team had presented GDOT with an Alternative Technical Concept (ATC) for the Oconee Connector interchange that GDOT has accepted, Collins said.
In November of 2024 GDOT awarded a $139.4 million design-build contract with Archer Western Construction LLC and Heath & Lineback Engineering Inc. for the bundle of projects that included the Jimmy Daniell Road, Virgil Langford Road, and Oconee Connector interchanges with SR 316.
Collins said in September of last year that the ATC accepted by GDOT “removes the need for a detour affecting the Oconee Connector during construction staging.” A detour had been announced back in 2022.
Collins released in September of last year a schematic showing the new plans for the interchange, but he did not release details of those plans.
At present, the 2022 approved plans remain on the Transforming SR 316 web site.
Schulman, who has replaced Collins as Communications Program Manager for the bundle of projects, released the details plans for the SR 316 and Connector interchange on Sept. 23 in response to a request from me.
Those plans show the west-bound exit of SR 316 onto the connector beginning after SR 316 crosses the Connector on the bridge now under construction.
The west bound entrance to SR 316 from the Connector will begin at that same traffic controlled intersection and run under the bridge carrying Virgil Langford Road over SR 316 before connecting with the west-bound traffic on SR 316.
The east-bound exit of SR 316 onto the Connector and the east-bound entrance to SR 316 from the Connector will cross at a traffic-controlled intersection of the Connector and SR 316.
Two traffic lights, one north of the existing Connector and SR 316 interchange, and one south of that current intersection, will replace the current single light at the Connector and SR 316 intersection.
Other Updates On Construction
GDOT, in it’s Oct. 1 newsletter, said that the traffic at SR 316 and the Oconee Connector “was shifted in late September to provide room for construction of the bridge mid-spans.”
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| Schematic To Simplify Detailed Plans (Click To Enlarge) |
“Utility relocations and earthwork excavation are also continuing, with the roadway taking shape near the new bridges,” according to the electronic newsletter.
“Bridge construction continues at Virgil Langford Road, along with ongoing earthwork throughout the project area,” the newsletter said.
“Crews will continue advancing bridge construction and related roadway improvements as work progresses through the corridor,” GDOT said.
“Work is progressing on the Jimmy Daniell bridge, while roadway demolition and mass excavation are underway along the former roadway,” the newsletter states. “Crews are also constructing the final two box culverts at the interchange simultaneously.”
“Construction of the mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) walls along the new westbound on-ramp is beginning, while cast-in-place retaining walls are progressing along the westbound off-ramp,” according to the newsletter. “Concrete paving continues on the ramps and auxiliary lanes.”
“At the southern roundabout, crews are working on drainage installation and grading in preparation for continued roadway construction,” the newsletter states.
Two roundabouts, one north of SR 316 and one south of the bridge carrying Jimmy Daniell Road over SR 316, will replace the current traffic light at that intersection.
I had asked Schulman if any changes would be made to the approach to the existing SR 316 on the Oconee Connector traveling north or south.
On Sept. 25, Schulman wrote: "I just received this from the team: The proposed work to the Oconee Connector does not include any work to address the vertical or horizontal curvature of the roadway. It's mill/inlayed but no geometric change."
Mill and inlay is a method of road repair that involves grinding off a top layer of asphalt and replacing it with a fresh, level layer.
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