Ramp reopens; construction on Dean Forest Road continues

CHATHAM COUNTY, Ga. (WTOC) - The construction causing a closure on Dean Forest Road is moving along.

The Interstate 16 eastbound offramp at Dean Forest reopened Thursday morning after being closed last night – all ramps at exit 160 are now open. However, the overpass bridge remains closed at this time.

This is the first full day of this bridge closure, with GDOT shutting down the overpass Wednesday at 7 p.m.

This is a high-traffic area, according to GDOT this bridge typically sees about 45,000 cars a day – about 40 percent of that is commercial.

This closure is to help widen the lanes and provide easier access to the ramps as well as constructing a new bridge. When the project is complete, it’ll be a diverging diamond format similar to the I-95 exit in Port Wentworth.

This is set to reopen Sunday night at 7 p.m. and it will be important to be careful as you’ll be driving through a slightly different traffic pattern.

“Just be aware. You’re going to be shifted to the opposite side of the road that you’re not used to on the new bridge. It won’t be a full diverging diamond at this point, we still have a lot of work to be done. It’ll be similar to how it is today, you’re just going to be on brand new construction. You’ll be able to get easily where you need to go, the signs will be in place,” said Kyle Collins, with the Georgia Department of Transportation.

Again, the bridge will be reopened on Sunday night, so this change is important to note if this is the way you typically take to get to work Monday morning.

The reopening isn’t the end of this project. The entire traffic pattern is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

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