Relief is evidently on the way for motorists who regularly drive through the Wilma Edwards Road and Highway 280 intersection, after Bryan County Commissioners approved spending $193,000 for engineering and design services on a new roundabout at the busy Black Creek crossroads.

Savannah-based Thomas and Hutton Engineering, which handles a number of engineering projects for Bryan County, is responsible for the design and other aspects after commissioners voted March 9 to move ahead on the roundabout.

The intersection, a busy two-way stop with Wilma Edwards Road to the north of 280 and Black Creek Church Road to the south, was tabled during a 2018 transportation study for upgrades, and in 2019 the Georgia Department of Transportation approved a roundabout there.

Roughly 7,700 vehicles a day passed through the busy intersection on Highway 280 in 2019, according to GDOT traffic date.

Water and sewer upgrades tied to Mega Site

Thomas and Hutton is also handling Bryan County’s portion of sewer upgrades in North Bryan, and at commissioners’ March 9 meeting the county signed off on a $1.8 million agreement with the company for its services “in conjunction with the North Bryan Regional Water and Sewer main projects.”

Commissioners entered into an agreement with Savannah in December to improve water and sewer service along I-16 from the new Savannah Chatham Manufacturing Center off I-16 and Old River Road to the Bryan County Mega Site, a 2,153-acre tract near I-16 and the Highway 280 exit.

The Bryan County Mega Site first made news in 2015, when the Savannah Harbor Interstate 16 Joint Corridor Development Authority applied to the Army Corps of Engineers and state officials to permit the site, which was widely speculated at the time to be one of two being eyed by Volvo at which to build a $500 million manufacturing plant.

The other site was Charleston, which was eventually selected by Volvo. The Mega Site remains listed on the Joint Development Authority website as available.