Proposed Oconee bypass pits traffic relief against family farmland
WATKINSVILLE — Will Breedlove spent much of his life on the pastures along Rose Creek.
He grew up there. He returned to farm there as an adult. And he died there in 2023.
His children are the family’s fifth generation to roam the same fields.
Charli Ann, 5, and Henry, 4, splash in the water, pick raspberries and help gather chicken eggs. This land is where their dad and mom, Will and Lori, met at a kiln over a mutual love for pottery. Will later proposed beneath the pecan trees near a farmhouse built more than a century ago.
Now, a proposed bypass intended to ease traffic in Oconee County could cut through the heart of the property. One route under consideration by the Georgia Department of Transportation would run an asphalt highway through a pasture and place a roundabout near the pecan orchard.
“This land is really the only thing my kids have to physically attach them to their dad,” Lori Breedlove said. “I want them to have the experience that he had growing up here.”
The project has ignited a deeply emotional debate in Oconee County, pitting the desire for fewer traffic snarls in downtown Watkinsville against efforts to preserve the rural character and family farms that define South Oconee.
The county seat has grown by more than 40% since 2020 to over 4,000 residents. Many have been drawn by the city’s proximity to Athens, home to the University of Georgia, and the county’s top-rated schools.
Oconee County is also part of a rapidly developing corridor north and west of Athens — including Jackson, Walton and Barrow counties — where farmland increasingly gives way to subdivisions, warehouses and industrial parks.
And with that growth has come mounting traffic pressure.
On a recent Thursday at noon in downtown Watkinsville, a mix of cars, dump trucks and 18-wheelers stacked bumper-to-bumper along a half-mile stretch of N Main Street.
Earlier this year, GDOT unveiled three possible bypass routes around downtown aimed at improving traffic flow. Each proposal would create a two-lane connector south of the city limits between State Route 15 and U.S. Routes 129/441, which are frequently used by trucks traveling north from the Port of Savannah.
Watkinsville Mayor Brian Brodrick has argued congestion is hurting local retailers and limiting economic potential. His public support for a bypass earlier this year sparked tension at a city council meeting, where residents questioned whether alternatives had been fully explored, cited past commitments to preserve natural spaces and challenged whether a bypass would meaningfully reduce traffic.
“If anything breaks my heart about this whole process, it’s that we’re at odds and we shouldn’t be,” Brodrick said. “Because I think a healthy Watkinsville is good for South Oconee and a healthy South Oconee is what makes Watkinsville feel special.”
Watkinsville has long tried to balance growth and green spaces. In recent years, it has expanded sidewalks and playgrounds. It opened the 100-acre Thomas Farm Preserve in 2024, the same year it won an “All-America City” award for its local planning and community engagement.
Brandon Wilkes says growth has brought both opportunity and uncertainty.
Wilkes, the eighth generation on his family’s roughly 150-acre farm, said he has watched neighboring farmers reach retirement age and sell their land to developers. For many farm families, the land itself is the retirement plan.
Wilkes said he understands those decisions, but his family’s plans are different.
His son, now in college, intends to continue the operation. But two of the three bypass options would cut through their pastures and disrupt water access for cattle.
“The problem I have with growth,” Wilkes said, “is once you start, you can’t stop it.”
Breedlove and Wilkes are active in a grassroots group called Save South Oconee. An online petition opposing a bypass has nearly 2,500 verified signatures.
In early May, the Oconee County Board of Commissioners approved a resolution asking the GDOT to conduct additional studies before selecting a bypass route. County leaders requested closer analysis of traffic patterns inside Watkinsville, including whether intersection upgrades, signal timing changes or smaller road expansions could reduce congestion without a new bypass.
During the meeting, State Rep. Eric Gisler, D-Watkinsville, said he had spoken with GDOT officials and warned them about what he described as “significant community pushback.”
“There are not many places left that have actual, working, small-family farms anymore,” Gisler said. “We need to take it very seriously to try to protect that.”
At a Watkinsville city council meeting in late May, Brodrick said he was willing to work with county officials to find a solution that works for the whole county.
The project remains in its concept phase, and no route has been selected. State officials also could choose not to build a bypass.
As GDOT weighs its options, Lori Breedlove is waiting for a decision.
Authorities said Will Breedlove was killed at the farm by his father, who later took his own life.
For Lori, his widow, the land is one of the few remaining connections her children have to their father.
Much of the family’s 350 acres are now leased to cattle farmers who produce grass-fed beef. When Will managed the property, he raised cattle and hundreds of chickens. His mobile egg coop, the “Eggmobile,” as he called it, was a familiar sight for motorists passing by.
“It meant everything to Will, this farm staying together,” she said. “I consider myself the steward here, and it’s my job to protect it for my kids.”
About the Author
Fletcher Page is Athens bureau chief covering northeast Georgia for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
