Governor Brian P. Kemp and the Georgia Department of Transportation recently announced a series of reconstruction projects that will remove existing signalized intersections, address side road stopped intersections and replace current at-grade separations with interchanges along 35 miles of Ga. 316 in Gwinnett, Barrow and Oconee counties.
The proposed improvements are based on crash data and current and future traffic congestion predictions in the northeastern portion of the state. Each project is designed to improve traffic flow and reduce the number of crashes on the newly upgraded freeway-style corridor.
All projects, currently in the design phases, are anticipated to be under construction or under contract by 2025 with construction completed in 2028. The proposed projects total nearly $828.8 million in preliminary engineering, right-of-way and construction costs.
The portion of Ga. 316 currently being considered contains more than 13 signalized, side-stopped or right-in, right-out yield intersections and seven at-grade intersections from Hi Hope Road in Gwinnett to the Oconee Connector.
According to GDOT, on average there have been a total of 408 property damage crashes and 151 injury crashes per year at 12 intersections along Ga. 316. GDOT data indicates intersection-to-interchange projects typically result in a 28% reduction in injury crashes and a 27% reduction in non-injury crashes.
Additional information: www.transformingsr316-gdot.hub.arcgis.com.