The corridor of Georgia 515 between Blairsville and Young Harris has seen big changes over the last year, with dramatic alterations to the roadside topography as the highway reconstruction project takes shape.
And Georgia Department of Transportation District 1 Communications Officer Nathan Johnston says all three phases of the project to widen the corridor to four lanes are on schedule for completion in 2027.
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Regarding ongoing traffic impacts on the highway, the project manager said that two lanes remain open over the construction area with occasional flagging operations “only when absolutely necessary,” as most of the work is being done in closed lanes or out of traffic.
Phase I is 59% complete in Towns County. This phase will result in a two-lane bypass of 1.25 miles in length running around the west side of Downtown Young Harris, beginning with a roundabout at Brasstown Creek Road and ending with a second roundabout at Timberline Drive.
Johnston noted that paving will begin soon on the Young Harris bypass, with the roundabouts to be constructed half at a time to carry traffic.
Phase II is 35% complete. This phase encompasses the 3.2 miles of Georgia 515 between Earl Shelton Road in Union County and Sampson Road in Young Harris. To enable four lanes of travel over Brasstown Creek, two bridges are replacing the single bridge at the county line.
Traffic has been shifted onto the new bridge as demolition of the old bridge wraps up, with all old asphalt being recycled. The second new bridge will be built about 8 feet higher than the old bridge to accommodate the 500-year flood stage.
By the middle of January, 368,368 cubic yards of dirt and 21,082 cubic yards of rock had been excavated in Phase II.
When all is said and done, Phase II will feature a four-lane divided highway with a 32-foot depressed median and 10-foot shoulder, to include a 6-foot paved shoulder for bike travel in both directions.
Phase III, the final portion of the project, is about 11% complete and still lists a Nov. 30, 2027, estimated completion date. This phase stretches between Young Harris Street inside Blairsville city limits and Earl Shelton Road in Union County.
The 4.39 miles of Phase III will transform that existing three-lane section of Georgia 515 into a four-lane divided rural roadway with a 32-foot grassed depressed median.
Within Blairsville city limits, Phase III will bring a five-lane roadway with sidewalks, three special-design retaining walls, and incorporate trout stream restoration efforts.
Excavated soil and stone are being hauled to various waste pits and onsite fills, with the latest estimates of 276,907 cubic yards of dirt and 44,530 cubic yards of rock having been excavated in Phase III.
As background, this project has been on the books since 1999, initially consisting of a single construction phase to both straighten and widen roughly 8 miles of the highway between Blairsville and Young Harris.
After bids came back too high in 2023, GDOT divided the project into three phases to bid out separately, with the same ultimate goal of future-proofing the corridor by reducing both traffic congestion and crash frequency.
