This is "Actual Factual Gwinnett," a regular column in which Tyler Estep answers reader questions about Gwinnett happenings and history. Read previous editions — like this one discussing where Webb Gin House Road got its name — by clicking the hyperlinks at the bottom of this column, where you'll also find information for submitting your own questions. Enjoy!
Let's get right to it, folks. I've got some very happy news to share.
Reader Cynthia writes, in part: "Can you provide information on what Ga. 316 will look like when the construction is completed?"
The answer, dear Cynthia, is yes — because you can just take a drive and see. BECAUSE THE CONSTRUCTION IS JUST ABOUT DONE ALREADY.
Whoa, whoa, whoa. For real? Yes, for real. Gwinnett County's five-year road construction nightmare is almost over. The majority of the new westbound lanes — excepting a small stretch between Ga. 20 and Collins Hill Road, where a guardrail still has to go up — opened for traffic on Tuesday.
The new eastbound lanes will open this weekend, GDOT spokeswoman Annalysce Baker said. The bridge spanning 316 at Walther Boulevard opened June 3. There may be some continued tinkering in the near future, but the lion's share of the work is now done.
This, obviously, is a big bleeping deal, and a long-awaited date in Gwinnett driving history.
Now, some background: Waaaay back in November 2011, GDOT got the go-ahead to begin construction on a massive overhauling of Ga. 316 in Gwinnett County, building overpasses (and eliminating traffic lights) at Collins Hill Road and Ga. 20. This is what that project map looked like:
The green lanes are the ones that opened this week/are opening this weekend. For the last several years, Gwinnettians have basically been driving on the reddish-brown lines.
And now, let's backtrack a little/clear up questions from an earlier version of this colum... THERE ARE NO HOV LANES COMING TO 316. Baker, the aforementioned GDOT spokeswoman, spoke in error when she told me they would be added between I-85 and Ga. 20.
So...doubly good news! The long-under-construction portion of Ga. 316 truly is about to be a completely normal, orange barrel-free, traffic lightless stretch of driving bliss.
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I, Tyler Estep, am a staff writer with the AJC and a Gwinnett County native. To submit “Actual Factual Gwinnett” questions, contact me at tyler.estep@coxinc.com, @ByTylerEstep on Twitter or via the form below.
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