Ridgeway Church Road, SK Boulevard and Steve Reynolds Industrial Parkway Roundabout

SK America, located in Commerce, GA, is one of the latest automotive plants added to the Georgia landscape. Located in Jackson County, more than 2,600 employees operate the plant, in addition to the increased semi-truck traffic, which delivers all of the raw materials needed to manufacturer automotive batteries and deliver the final product to EV plants and export destinations.

With the more than $2.6 billion of investment made in the plant, the road system leading to the property and the surrounding industries needed to be evaluated due to the increased truck and passenger traffic. The existing four-way stop-controlled intersection, which serves multiple warehouses, including the SK facility, was noted as a growing safety concern, and bottleneck for traffic in the area.

Keck + Wood designed a roundabout to focus the increased passenger traffic, but allow heavy truck maneuvers. Our team was able to utilize truck blisters to keep the footprint small while still allowing for truck movements which, among other design considerations, allowed the project to be designed without the need to negotiate for right-of-way or easements. Our design also respected the locations of the existing storm drain, waterline, gas line, and overhead power, which saved the County from funding expensive utility relocations and shortened the overall project delivery schedule. The final bid price was less than $1 million dollars (approx. $815,000), which is a major win for the County in today’s construction landscape.