COVINGTON, Ga. — Newton County motorists using Salem Road and commuters to Atlanta on I-20 could run into major construction projects around the middle of next year.

Construction on both segments of a project to widen Salem Road (Georgia Hwy. 162) in Newton and Rockdale counties will begin around the same time in 2023, said GDOT Commissioner Russell McMurry.

McMurry gave the update during the annual Legislative Prayer Breakfast hosted by the Rotary and Kiwanis clubs of Covington.

He said both Salem Road segments are being done at about the same time so that “you endure one construction project.”

“Bear with us — orange barrels are progress,” McMurry said. 

In Newton County, work is set to begin in summer 2023 on a widening and reconstruction of Salem Road from Old Salem Road to Brown Bridge Road, McMurry said.

The 1.7-mile project will increase it from its current two lanes to four 12-foot lanes with a 20-foot raised median in the middle, he said.

GDOT is buying right of way land for the road totaling 119 parcels, McMurry said.

Part of the road will be constructed on a new location for about 0.6 of a mile to bypass the historic Salem Camp Ground and the Salem United Methodist Church, according to an Atlanta Regional Commission study.

New traffic signals are planned at Salem Road’s intersections with Salem Circle, Spring Road, Village Drive, Greenleaf Drive, Country Walk Way and Golfview Drive, the ARC document stated

Old Concord Drive will no longer have direct access to Salem Road and will end with a cul-de-sac, it stated.

In addition, construction on the part of Salem Road between Old Salem Road and I-20 is expected to begin at the same time, McMurry said.

The part in Rockdale County is a 2.25-mile, $50 million project, he said.

“We’re actually buying property now,” McMurry said.

GDOT has acquired about 50 of the 150 parcels needed for the project, he said.

District 2 County Commissioner Demond Mason said he believed his west Newton constituents were “ready for this” road project.

“I think the District 2 constituents are looking forward to this because we really want to see more retail (stores) development on the western side of the county,” he said.

“We know that if we can deal with that traffic concern, it’ll be really easier for us to begin development,” Mason said.

County Chairman Marcello Banes said he appreciated the update about the Newton County projects.

“It’s awesome to see our state leaders are partnering with the county to make sure that we have the appropriate infrastructure here,” he said.

Some other area projects McMurry highlighted in his speech:

• The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is still working with the contractor on an investigation of the October collapse of the Access Road bridge over the Yellow River in west Newton County, McMurry said.

Work was halted after one man died when the decades-old structure collapsed as workers were removing parts of it for a replacement project. The bridge is about 100 yards east of I-20’s Crowell Road exit.

• A massive project to rebuild the I-20/I-285 interchange is expected to begin in 2023 and finish in late spring 2026, McMurry said.

The $800 million project will build a new interchange, add lanes on both interstates and replace various bridges .

“If you ever go up to 285 and 400 and see the kind of work that’s going on now, that’s the kind of scale this project is,” he said.

“It is a game-changer. It certainly reduces congestion,” McMurry said.

He noted the interchange has been rated among the top 50 freight bottlenecks in the nation. 

The often-dangerous exit has been the scene of numerous tractor-trailer wrecks in recent years.