Officials held a ribbon cutting Monday to celebrate the opening of the $4 million Great Ogeechee Parkway, a regional connector road linking Belfast Keller and Harris Trail near the new Belfast Keller interchange on I-95.

The 2.2 mile parkway was funded by TSPLOST and is on land donated to the city by Rayonier, a donation Richmond Hill officials said is worth $450,000.

Richmond Hill Mayor Russ Carpenter said a 2016 traffic study showed the need for the parkway, with an estimated 4,000 cars a day traveling the parkway, and “it’s probably more than that now.”

Carpenter told reports he “was very excited about doing this,” because it fulfills the city’s pledge to have infrastructure in place before development while also having development pay for the infrastructure.

The project was supposed to be finished earlier this year and open to traffic in the spring, but shortages of material held up the completion, city officials said.

An estimated 4,200 vehicles will be traveling the GOSF daily by 2026, according to estimates provided by Richmond Hill.

Rayonier’s real estate division, Raydient Places and Properties, is already building a 114-lot subdivision near the parkway, and over time reportedly has plans to build some 10,000 homes on approximately 5,000 acres surrounding the city’s newest interchange.

Carpenter said the Great Ogeechee Parkway will help handle future growth while alleviating some of the city’s current traffic issues.

Commercial development, including the nearly completed Medline warehouse, is also planned for the area at the Beflast Keller interchanged, which has been named for former County Commission Chairman Jimmy Burnsed.

The bridge at the interchange is named for former Richmond

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