Henry County has approved hiring a design engineer for the Oak Grove Road widening project. The design work will be paid for by SPLOST VI.
The Oak Grove Road widening project is one of 17 major road projects in the SPLOST VI program. Sales tax collections for the six-year program began on April 1, 2025.
Oak Grove Road widening design
The Oak Grove Road widening project extends from Jonesboro Road to Jodeco Road. This is a distance of 1.65 miles. The project will widen the existing two-lane road to a four-lane divided highway. A pedestrian path / sidewalk is also standard on county road widening projects. Lastly, the bridge over Walnut Creek, to either widen or replace it, will be a signature aspect on this project. The design speed is 45 mph.
Henry County received design proposals in February. The county received six proposals from interested firms. Each proposal was then reviewed by a committee of Henry County staff. Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. of Atlanta ranked the highest. They provided a fee for the design work in the amount of $2,775,400.00. The board of commissioners approved this cost at their May 6, 2025 meeting. Design work for a major road widening project typically lasts about 1-2 years.
Funding is available in SPLOST VI for the project. The SPLOST VI program budgeted $6 million for the project’s design and right of way acquisition. The road widening project is located in district 4.
At this time, funding is not yet identified for construction. Oak Grove Road, like many other county projects, will be a candidate for possible funding in T-SPLOST 2. Henry County voters will consider T-SPLOST 2 in 2026.
Other Projects in the Vicinity
There are numerous major road projects planned within the “Central Henry” area. This is the area around Jonesboro Road and Jodeco Road / I-75 exits 221 and 222. Planned road projects include the following:
- Western Parallel Connector, new four-lane road between Hudson Bridge, Jodeco and Jonesboro Roads – presently under construction,
- Jonesboro Road widening (west), Phase I, Mill Road to North Mt. Carmel Road – purchasing right of way,
- Mill Road widening, Phase I, Jonesboro Road to Flea Market – purchasing right of way,
- Mill Road widening, Phase II, Flea Market to State Route 81 – design in progress,
- Jonesboro Road widening (west), Phase II, North Mt. Carmel Road to Clayton County – design contract awarded in May 2025,
- Jodeco Road widening (west), Interstate 75 to Hudson Bridge Road – design contract awarded in May 2025,
- Patrick Henry Parkway widening, Jodeco Road to Eagles Landing Parkway – design proposals due on May 30,
- Jonesboro Road widening (east), Interstate 75 to McDonough Parkway – design procurement TBA,
- Oak Grove Road widening, Jodeco Road to Jonesboro Road – design contract awarded in May 2025,
- Willow Lane widening, Jonesboro Road to Bridges Road – design contract awarded in April 2025,
- Bridges Road, reestablish the old road from Mt. Carmel Road to Willow Lane – design procurement TBA, and
- McDonough Parkway widening, State Route 20 to Jonesboro Road – design proposals accepted in April 2025.
Featured image shows a map of the Oak Grove Road widening and other major projects in the vicinity. Clayton Carte / The Henry Reporter map created with Datawrapper.
