The Georgia Department of Transportation (Georgia DOT) is sending all District 2 (east-central Georgia) signal personnel to Richmond County on Wednesday to help with Hurricane Helene cleanup.

Georgia DOT maintains traffic lights in 25 counties across District 2, excluding Columbia and Richmond Counties, which maintain their own traffic lights. While several traffic lights are still non-operational because of power loss, all Georgia DOT maintained signal heads have been repaired and will be operational again once power is restored. Because of this, our entire signal workforce is available to assist Richmond County with signal repairs on Wednesday. In addition to all District 2 crews, District 3 (west-central Georgia) will have two crews in Richmond County as well.

Crews will clear debris on Wednesday at the Georgia Welcome Center on Interstate 20 near the South Carolina state line.

Georgia DOT maintenance crews will be riding interstates and state routes across the district on Wednesday to move debris further away from the edge of the road, allowing more room on the shoulder. Crews are primarily focusing on Interstate 16 and Interstate 20.

As utility companies make progress restoring power across the area, Georgia DOT crews are returning to sites where debris has been wrapped up in power lines. Because of safety, we must wait for the utility company to respond before handling the debris.

We will continue repairing stop and yield signs across the district. About 75% of damaged red series signs have been restored.

Paving is scheduled for Wednesday on State Route 86 on the Laurens/Treutlen County line, which has been closed because of a road washout. We expect to have this route open to traffic in the coming days.

Work is scheduled to start Wednesday on State Route 296 in Jefferson County between Warrior Trail and United States 1/United States 221, which remains closed because of a road washout. A new pipe is being delivered on Wednesday. We anticipate it will take less than a week for the contractor to finish repairing the route.

We continue to ask drivers to use caution as several traffic lights across the district are non-operational due to power loss. If you see a non-operational traffic light, Georgia law requires you to treat it like a stop sign. Please continue limiting all non-essential travel to help our Georgia DOT crews perform their work quicker and safer.