06-03-2025
GDOT's new plans for I-95/I-16: what drivers can expect ahead
SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) — If you're heading out on I-95, or I-16 this morning… be prepared for some changes. After a weekend of traffic headaches, GDOT is responding to public feedback to help with your commute.
If you've driven along these two highways in the Coastal Empire – traffic barrels and roadwork congestion is all too familiar. Especially this week. Part of the highway was reduced to one lane, and just hours after a third lane opened! With all the road changes… GDOT is making changes to help drivers have a smoother commute.
Hundreds of drivers were stuck in hours-long traffic this past Saturday after GDOT's bridge maintenance work reduced I-95 southbound to just one lane. Now, GDOT is revising its schedule, hoping to minimize disruption while also striving to stay on their timeline for the project.
GDOT is now working to avoid similar traffic backups – moving forward. While the bridge maintenance over the Ogeechee River is still underway, work is now moving to off-peak week, you'll notice closures on I-16 from the I-95 interchange to I-516, plus some double-lane closures on I-95 near the I-16 overpass at night from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m.
But here's the big update—a third lane opened on I-16 near the I-95 interchange. It's all part of a plan to ease the congestion for nearly 100,000 drivers every day.
'We're planning for growth, not just for today but for the next 20, 30, and 40 years. This especially with the impact of freight and commercial traffic that's only going to increase,' said Kyle Collins, a Communications Officer for GDOT.
The project was originally mapped out in 2016 as part of GDOT's Major Mobility Investment Program. Part of the 11 megaprojects across the state designed to enhance mobility and safety, fuel economic growth, while also improving Georgian's quality of life by smoother travel times and trip reliability.
Although the project officially began in 2020, GDOT expects to have it substantially finished by late summer or fall 2025. Collins says ideally late August, to early September.
In the next few months, GDOT will be working on finalizing bridges, expanding lanes, and adding better lighting and real-time traffic alerts.
Collins shares that it's also no secret just the growth of Savannah's residential and commercial areas need to be kept up with high quality roads. The impact that the ports, and Hyundai Plant, have had on the area for residents, resulting in higher traffic that is only anticipated to grow. In the past decade, the number of trucks coming through the ports have more than doubled.
GDOT points out that the commerce and the billions of dollars that flows through the port of Savannah is not going away. In fact, the Port announced that they are now the fastest growing port on the east coast of the United States. GDOT's data displays projections for major freight and commercial traffic to double on top of the current number of vehicles and trucks in the next decade or twenty years.
'Because as goes a lot of things in Savannah and the growth that y'all are experiencing down there, that that has arteries that go all the way up to metro Atlanta, that has arteries that go to the southeast and really the U.S. as a whole when it comes to logistics and the supply chain,' explained Collins. 'So that's not lost on us and that's part of us being proactive to meet current and future needs.'
Here is a brief summary of what GDOT is doing on I-16 and I-95 these next few months:
GDOT to revise I-95/ I-16 work schedule after weekend traffic backups
Goal: Minimize delays and shift work to off-peak hours
Plan ahead – nearly 100,000 drivers use I-95 daily
As GDOT works to improve the traffic flow, the new third lane on I-16 should help cut delays up to 30% by 2030.
Looking ahead Collins shared GDOT plans on expanding more road in Bryan County, Chatham County, and Bulloch County.
'This is a 30-mile corridor that we're looking at. So essentially that's from the I-95 interchanges to state Route 67 and Bulloch County. That will be expanding those lanes in both directions,' detailed Collins.
St. Patrick's Day holiday work restrictions will be in place from Friday, March 14, 2025, at noon to Tuesday, March 18, 2025, at 6 a.m. No road closures or work that restricts or interferes with traffic will be conducted during this time frame.
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