Georgia invests $1B to turn Route 316 into ‘workforce expressway’ between Atlanta and Athens

Originally posted in Atlanta Business Chronicle.

A decade from now, a series of stop-and-start intersections along the state highway connecting Atlanta to Athens will be ditched in an effort to improve traffic flow and accommodate growth.

Georgia’s Department of Transportation is investing approximately $1 billion into a long-term overhaul of state Route 316. The four-lane highway, also known as University Parkway, crosses through Gwinnett, Barrow and Oconee counties.

At the request of Gov. Brian Kemp, Georgia lawmakers allocated $185 million in the amended fiscal 2026 state budget to convert signalized intersections along the 40-mile highway into interchanges with on- and off-ramps.

There are dozens of projects under construction or planned to break ground in coming years. Taken together, the upgrades will turn the expressway into a full-fledged freeway for commuters and freight vehicles.

“It shouldn’t take you a full afternoon to get from Athens to Atlanta, or vice versa,” Kemp, an Athens native, told a room full of business leaders in January while unveiling some of his big spending priorities for the 2026 legislative session.

The reconstruction is anticipated to cut down on travel times and reduce the risk of crashes along the fast-growing corridor, stretching from Interstate 85 in Gwinnett to Epps Bridge Parkway in Oconee.

Once-rural Barrow is home to close to 100,000 residents, up almost 19% since 2020, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates.

Nearly 45,000 people live in Oconee, an affluent enclave outside of Athens. The county’s population has increased 7% since the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Census estimates.

Meanwhile, Gwinnett is the second-most populous county in the state with approximately 1 million residents. One of the biggest beneficiaries of the SR 316 improvements is on the county’s eastern edge.

Rowen is envisioned as a mixed-use employment and research hub centered around the environment, agriculture and medicine. Global biopharmaceutical giant UCB Inc. is the first corporate tenant to snag a spot at the 2,000-acre development.

The SR 316 overhaul includes a new interchange at Williams Farm Drive and a Rowen Way overpass. Together, those projects will provide “permanent, high-capacity connections” to complement the scale of planned development, said Sachin Shailendra, chair of the Rowen Foundation’s board of directors.

“The upgrades planned will create a more efficient connection for employees, researchers and residents across the region’s labor market and research ecosystem,” Shailendra said. “Reliable access and improved connectivity will support Rowen’s development activity, site marketing and heavy construction logistics.”

A key selling point of Rowen is its location between Athens and Atlanta, putting it within a one-hour drive of academic institutions such as the University of Georgia and Georgia Tech.

As such, SR 316 is poised to become a “workforce expressway” connecting students at colleges and universities to thousands of future job opportunities, said Matt Elder, Gwinnett’s deputy director of planning and development.

“These improvements will play a critical role in solidifying Gwinnett County as a vibrant community that is focused on increasing prosperity and quality of life for our residents for decades to come,” Elder said.

The 316 revamp could support economic development in smaller but rapidly growing communities along the highway as well.

Farther east in Oconee County, a healthcare hub has sprung up at the tail-end of 316. Medical offices have clustered around the Oconee Connector, along which retail development has spread from Epps Bridge Parkway.

One of the new interchanges is planned at the Oconee Connector, which could improve accessibility and marketability for existing and prospective businesses in the area, said Oconee County Administrator Justin Kirouac.

“A key part of our economic development strategy is to foster the healthcare and medical businesses, which are a key service for the community,” Kirouac said. “Providing easier access to these locations makes them even more attractive for continued growth in this sector.”