MACON, Ga. — Some good news for drivers: daily commutes might've gotten easier now that Hardeman Avenue is accessible from Gray Highway once again.
If driving onto I-16 from Spring Street, Gray and Emery Highways, the only access point goes west.
The newly paved ramp leads you to the I-75 north and south split, where construction is 66% complete, according to the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT).
Now, when driving southbound on 75 from there, Hardeman Avenue is now accessible. However, Hardeman is still not accessible if driving westbound on 16.
Gina Snider from GDOT expects phase four and five of the project will finish in a year-and-a-half during the winter of 2025.
"Basically, we started this whole entire project because of better mobility for all the trucks traveling through to the Savannah area, from the ports, to come through to Macon, which is a major metropolitan area of our state," Snider explained.
By the end of this year, GDOT expects phase two and three — the interchange from 75 northbound onto 16 westbound near Forsyth Street — to be complete.
GDOT expects that part of the project's about 98% done; it should be complete by the end of this year, Snider said.
"The contractors basically has been working on the lighting on the Hardeman Avenue looking forward here, currently performing guardrail installations, litter pickup, vegetation cleanup, so we're expected to be done by the end of this year with phase two and three," Snider said.
Final touches on the project are in the works now.
GDOT urges you to drive alert and arrive alive; construction workers are on the roads at various hours of the day and night across the state.