Major changes coming to Appling-Harlem Road in Georgia

APPLING, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Around half a million packages flow through the Amazon Fulfillment Center in Appling every day.

That means a lot of trucks are needed to take ship those packages. Now, a major project is underway to make Appling-Harlem Road able to handle all the new traffic.

There are now two new bridges. One is for traffic coming one way, and the other for traffic going the other direction.

These are a few new changes to help traffic coming towards and out of Amazon.

“So, it’s a little bit complex of a situation we have,” said Penny Brooks, GDOT, Transportation Investment Act communications.

Growth because of Amazon means changes. All the construction will end up with a traffic pattern you might have never seen before.

“The minute people get on and off of a ramp, they will be doing it from one of the new roundabouts,” she said. “This is a technique that started being used recently, but we’re seeing it quite a lot across the country.”

GDOT says in other places where roundabouts have been used, they’ve cut down on accidents.

Keeping traffic moving and off the highway could save lives. We don’t have the latest data from GDOT yet, but before Amazon moved in, about 9,000 cars came through there in two days back in 2021. No word on when this project is to be complete.

“When you have a particularly busy interchange or intersection, you have traffic that pools out into the main roadway. When we have a busy interstate, such as I-20, you don’t want that to happen,” said Brooks.

For instructions on how to use the roundabout, visit GDOT.

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