Drivers wanting to head to Savannah or points east on Interstate 16 Sunday will need to avoid Exit 116 for up to eight hours and all drivers east and westbound will experience some delays for a 13-mile stretch on I-16 in Bulloch County for the same time frame.

Jill Nagel, District 5 communications officer for the Georgia Department of Transportation, said Georgia Power will remove and raise overhead high voltage power lines on Interstate 16, both east and west bound, at mile marker 117.7.

She said the eastbound entrance to I-16 on Highway 301 South at Exit 116/Statesboro will be closed beginning at 8 a.m. Sunday. At the same time, area law enforcement will begin “traffic pacing” eastbound on I-16 at Exit 111/Pulaski/Excelsior and westbound beginning at mile marker 124.

Nagel said law enforcement will pace all traffic on I-16 in that 13-mile stretch to a maximum of 20 miles per hour, which is expected to add about 15 minutes to the normal traversing of that section.

Georgia Power has requested the pacing for 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., but Nagel said that time frame was set “out of an abundance of caution.

“Georgia Power does not anticipate taking more than a few hours to complete the necessary work,” she said. “However, if any unexpected issues pop up, they wanted to request a full eight hours, just in case.”

Message boards and advanced warning signs will be in place to alert drivers of delays and slow traffic, Nagel said.
Also, all the work and related activity is weather contingent, she said.