Relief coming to this section of Ga. 211 in Braselton

Jeff Gill, The Times, Gainesville, Ga.
·2 min read

Feb. 27—Work has started on a stretch of heavily congested Old Winder Highway/Ga. 211 in Braselton.

The $25.5 million project calls for widening the road from two to four lanes between Pinot Noir Drive and Interstate 85.

The project, expected to be completed by Oct. 31, 2025, will include a 5 1/2 -foot sidewalk on the east side of a bridge on Ga. 211, as well as multi-lane roundabouts at I-85 and Tour de France, a road leading to Chateau Elan resort.

"This is a major project, and the first part of it has begun with the clearing and grubbing (of trees and vegetation) on the sides of the road," said Elizabeth Johnson, Georgia Department of Transportation district spokeswoman.

Moving utilities, including lines and poles, is expected to take 7-8 months, depending on the weather, she said.

"The town has worked very hard in partnership with the Georgia Department of Transportation to get this project to construction," Braselton Town Manager Jennifer Scott has said about the project.

Ga. 211 in Braselton is a busy, fast-developing road, intersecting in Hall County with Friendship Road/Ga. 347, which leads to Northeast Georgia Medical Center Braselton, which is undergoing a $565 million expansion.

A huge, multi-use development, Braselton Village, is being graded off Ga. 211 near Pinot Noir Drive. The development will feature a 187,647-square-foot shopping center, including a Lowe's home improvement store and five outparcels, on 32 acres.

So, more traffic is likely to come to the area.

Scott has said Braselton intends to continue working with GDOT to widen Ga. 211 from Pinot Noir to Friendship Road "in anticipation that we can get that project to award as soon as possible."

Plans also call for Ga. 211 to be widened in Hall from Friendship Road to Winder Highway/Ga. 53. The project, estimated to cost $92 million overall, has been set for 2026-30, according to the Gainesville-Hell Metropolitan Planning Organization.

Development also is expected to boom on the Hall side of Ga. 211.

Work has started on Reveille, a planned 512-acre mixed-use development across from Union Church Road, and an 8,000-square-foot retail spec building off Ga. 211 and Union Church was approved in February by Hall County's Board of Commissioners.