Savannah River Parkway is nearing completion
By Deborah Bennett

Seventeen years after its conception as part of the Governor's Road Improvement Projects, 96 percent of the Savannah River Parkway (SRP) is either open to traffic or under construction.

When completed, the 156- mile 4-lane roadway will connect Augusta and Savannah via two corridors with Millen as the connection point of both legs. At Millen, the two legs split and follow SR 21 to Savannah and U.S. Highway 25 to Statesboro and I-16.

Currently, 150 miles of the highway is open to traffic or under construction.

The only section of the SRP not currently under construction is the section in Jenkins County that runs from the intersection of U.S. Highway 25 South and State Route 121 (Woodpecker Trail) north to the Millen By- pass.

According to the Georgia Department of Transportation website, right-of-way acquisition began on this project in 2004 with construction set to begin this spring. The total distance of the project is 6.43 miles and includes plans for the replacement of the bridges over the Central of Georgia railroad tracks and Little Buckhead Creek.

Approved plans call for the construction of two additional 12-foot lanes to run parallel to the existing lances. A 44-foot depressed grass median is to be constructed from SR 121 to 1.63 miles south of the Millen Bypass. A depressed 14-foot flushed median is to be constructed from the intersection of U.S. Highway 25 and SR 17 (Midville Highway) to just north of Little Buckhead Creek. From just north of the creek, the project will revert back to a 44- foot depressed grass median to the end of the project at the Millen Bypass.

Construction is continuing on the leg of the SRP project in Jenkins County that runs from Paynes Chapel Road to the intersection of U.S. Highway 25 and State Route 121 (Woodpecker Trail) with completion expected in July.

The 9.2 mile section of the project running north along U.S. Highway 25 from the Millen Bypass to CR 118 in Burke County is also under construction with completion expected this summer.

Construction activities are underway on the 11.2 mile project from the Sylvania Bypass to CR 255 (Eureka Road) in Jenkins County with completion expected this spring.

Completion of the entire SRP was originally slated for 2001. The current estimated cost to complete its construction is $24,825,000.