Georgia State House District 30 Representative Derrick McCollum recently spoke on WDUN, updating the progress of the Ga. 211 widening project in the Braselton and Chestnut Mountain areas.
The Georgia Department of Transportation has been working on widening the highway from two lanes to four lanes, and adding roundabouts at the Interstate 85 interchange and Braselton Parkway at the entrance to the Chateau Elan winery. McCollum said that work, which is set to finish in April of 2026, is Phase 1 of a larger project for Ga. 211.
McCollum said he had pushed for the project with state officials to try to alleviate traffic in the booming area.
“I had conversations with the Georgia DOT about, we just need one road to get from (Interstate) 985 to I-85. I said, just pick one, widen Ga. 53, Ga. 211 or Spout Springs Road,” McCollum said. “The obvious conclusion was 211. It’s the shortest distance.”
McCollum said work is set to begin soon on the second phase of the project, which will widen the road from Chateau Elan northward to Friendship Road.
“It will start in April of 2026,” McCollum said. “The contractors that will potentially be building the road will be let on January 15, and that’s a one-month bidding process there.”
McCollum said GDOT is working in conjunction with the Town of Braselton to finish purchasing the needed right-of-way to begin the second phase of the project. Once the second phase is finished, the third phase will then aim to widen Ga. 211 from Friendship Road further north to its connection with Ga. 53 in Chestnut Mountain.
That third phase will also include replacing the intersection of Ga. 211 and Union Church Road with a roundabout. McCollum said finishing Phase 2 should provide some immediate relief to the traffic problems in the Braselton area.
“The second phase will be a huge advantage, because it bottlenecks there at the bridge when you’re going up towards Chateau Elan…That will be a huge, huge help there,” McCollum said.
McCollum said the third phase is currently projected to finish in either 2032. He said the cost of purchasing right-of-way and the rising cost of road-building materials like asphalt have slowed the process.
He said the total cost of the widening project will be over $100 million.
“That’s one thing that we’re struggling with as a state, is really just the cost of widening these roads,” McCollum said. “It’s just such a huge number when you start widening these.”
McCollum thanked GDOT and other state officials for their help in pushing the widening project forward.
“I had really reached out to the Governor (Brian Kemp,) and he’s been a tremendous help in getting that project moved up,” McCollum said.
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