The section of Nevils-Denmark Road closed since the Tropical Storm Debby deluge on Aug. 7, 2024, reopened to traffic about 5:10 p.m. Monday, Aug. 18, 2025, interim County Engineer Ron Nelson reported to the Bulloch County commissioners Tuesday morning.

"We got everything finished up yesterday, safety inspection was completed, and it was actually closed for 377 days. …," Nelson said. "So … shout outs to our partners at Kimley-Horn on their design and permitting and also Reeves Construction, they advanced everything through, had a great subcontractor … and they beat the schedule."

His updates on a couple of other road repairs — on Cypress Lake Road and Country Club Road — were not such welcome news to people who'd like to see them reopened as well, but Nelson indicated that planning is progressing, and his predicted timelines for reopening remain unchanged.

Nelson had started to talk about those projects first, but Board of Commissioners Chair David Bennett asked him to switch it around and put the best news first.

On the segment of Nevils-Denmark Road south of State Route 46, Debby's flood waters caused the old "double-barrel" culvert with its two 6-by-10-foot passages to settle and slightly rotate, breaking the pavement, which collapsed, leaving a gap several feet wide with water flowing through.

The county government then contracted Kimley Horn & Associates, the Savannah-based engineering consulting firm that designed the previous year's restoration work on Brannen Pond Road, to do the Nevils-Denmark design for fees up to $192,500.

Reeves won the construction contract in April with a $924,900 bid, the lowest of four companies' offers, with the rest ranging from $1.1 million to $1.44 million The design called for a "triple-barrel" culvert with three 8-by-7 channels. Like the old culvert, the new structure features "wing walls" to either side, but an "apron" was also added below the culvert to resist erosion there.

The contract allowed 120 days to complete the work, which would have extended through August. The county funded the work initially from the Transportation Location Option Sales Tax, or T-SPLOST, while seeking Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, and Georgia EMA reimbursement for the storm damage mitigation.

Cypress Lake Road

Meanwhile, through-traffic between Register and Statesboro on usually busy Cypress Lake Road has been rerouted since February because of damage from a different cause. A vehicle crashed into the 50-year-old bridge over Dry Branch on Feb. 25 shifted the structure, and engineers recommended a total bridge replacement.

The commissioners in April agreed to apply for an available $2,247,332 Local Road Assistance grant from the Georgia Department of Transportation on the basis of this project. At that time they also approved a $378,300 contract with the Marietta-based firm Heath & Lineback Engineers for engineering and design work on the Cypress Lake Road bridge.

"On our Cypress Lake Road closing, that bridge, so we received an update from our engineer, Heath & Lineback," Nelson told the commissioners Tuesday. "We are still tracking along, on schedule. Our next deliverables will be our 30% plans. We should receive those mid-September, that's on schedule."

Geotechnical studies should also begin in September, he said, for final plans to be delivered in early 2026, for the county to advertise for construction bids in April and give a contractor notice-to-proceed in May.

"The construction schedule is still holding at about 15 months, so we're looking towards opening for traffic in August of 2027," Nelson said.

So, yes, the reopening of the closed portion of Cypress Lake Road is still projected to be two years away.

Country Club Road

Also expected to remain closed for roughly half that time is a portion of Country Club Road, which might otherwise be part of some drivers' detour from Cypress Lake but has been closed since May 12 because of cumulative water damage.

Scouring of the shoulder and slope of the segment of Country Club Road that passes Hood Pond had begun with Tropical Storm Debby, county officials said. After several inches of rain fell in one night and one day in early May, the pavement was undermined and an edge fell away. Nelson said the damaged area was about 500 feet long.

"Country Club Road is next on our agenda for moving forward," he said Tuesday. "That project is with FEMA."

The federal agency has yet to approve the hydrology and hydraulic study, he said, but Bulloch County EMA Director Corey Kemp has signed off on a $891,000 FEMA funding estimate for the this project.

"Design is still advancing with Kimley-Horn, no holdup there," Nelson continued. "It's scheduled for final plans in February of 2026. We'll begin procurement for a contractor in March."

So, the county staff anticipates "opening Country Club Road back up September of 2026," he concluded.

That's still in the latter end of his original projection for reopening "in the summer" of next year.