GDOT hosts industry forum for I-16 widening project from Pooler to Brooklet

by Joe Hennessy

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - The Georgia Department of Transportation hosted an industry forum to cover the proposed scope, procurement schedule, and potential risks for the 32.5-mile stretch of I-16.

The project is projected to cost $511 million, all paid for by the state, with plans to start construction in 2027.

The project would widen I-16 from I-95 to State Route 67 from two to three lanes each way.

WTOC is waiting to receive the recorded session on Wednesday, but WTOC can report that GDOT leaders said it’s to reduce travel times.

They also have the goal to complete the more than 30-mile-long project, but at least, they expect to widen the major interstate from I-95 to the Hyundai Plant.

“This project is going to be a fixed-price-variable-scope project with the goal of achieving the greatest possible length in the corridor but expecting to at least get as far as the Hyundai plant,” said GDOT Program Delivery Director Albert Shelby at their board meeting in September. “So, it’s still up in the air as how far we are going to be able to go with the price that we have.”

They say it’s because of the growth in Chatham, Effingham, Bryan, and Bulloch counties that’s predicted to double in the next ten years.