Gwinnett buying a Waffle House to make way for new Ga. 316 interchange

A Waffle House store front.

A Waffle House store front.

Good news: Ga. 316 is getting a new interchange in Gwinnett, eliminating another traffic light and hopefully easing traffic.

Bad news: A Waffle House is gonna have to be, uh ... smothered to make it happen.

Indeed, Gwinnett County commissioners approved this week the purchase of about three-fourths of an acre near the Dacula-area intersection of Ga. 316 and Harbins Road. The $875,000 purchase would include the Waffle House restaurant that stands on the property, which is needed to construct access ramps for a new overpass at the busy intersection.

The restaurant is still open but would ultimately have to be demolished to make room. That could be months or years from now.

Original plans called for the new overpass to be open sometime between 2022 and 2027.

A Waffle House spokesman declined to comment on the potential sale moving forward or on the possibility of a new restaurant opening in the area in the future.

The purchase will be covered by special-purpose sales tax collections.