Detour Planned For Summer at Lake Lanier Islands

 

If you’re headed down to Lake Lanier Islands this summer, be aware of some major construction going on around SR284 for most of the summer months.

According to G-DOT spokesperson Teri Pope, SR 284 will be closed to traffic for construction of a pedestrian tunnel under SR 284 as part of a broader project.

The project will build a new bridge for SR 284 over the Chattahoochee River portion of Lake Lanier at the Lake Lanier Olympic Center.

The new bridge will have 12 feet wide lanes and an 8 feet wide bike-able shoulder in each direction. The project also builds a new pedestrian tunnel under SR 284.

That part of Lake Lanier is the where the Olympic Kayaking venue took place in 1996 and it still hosts kayaking events today.

But Pope says there’s a problem for kayakers they hope the tunnel will fix.

“Right now people have to literally carry them across the state route. So, as part of the bridge replacement project DOT is building a tunnel under the state route that will allow boaters, kayakers and folks who are just watching the events to cross the road without getting in the road. They will be able to use this tunnel underneath the roadway. In order to build that pedestrian tunnel, there will be a 60 day detour this Summer, closing part of State Route 284.”

The tunnel will be 10 feet wide, 8 feet high and 63.12 feet long once completed.

As work progresses, traffic will be diverted.

Crews will also be changing the grade of the roadway by three feet to accommodate the new tunnel.

Pope said however, boaters will still be able to access the boat ramp in that area but must approach it from the Gainesville side only.

This $8.7 million construction project was awarded to E. R. Snell Contractor Inc., of Snellville, Georgia.

The project completion date for the entire project including the new bridge is December 31, 2015.