COLUMBUS, Ga. - East Bonacre Road in Cataula will close starting Monday, Nov. 9, for about three months as construction continues on the widening of US 27/SR 1/Martha Berry Highway, according to the Georgia Department of Transportation. Motorists will be directed to use Grey Rock Road and US 27 to access East Bonacre Road during the closure, the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer reported Oct. 27. The widening runs from Muscogee County into Harris County, with a reported budget of about $72.3 million and an expected completion in summer 2027.

The closure covers East Bonacre Road from US 27/SR 1 to its split with Janet Drive. GDOT expects the road to reopen in three months if the weather permits. The news release, as cited by the Ledger-Enquirer, does not give an exact reopening date.

Where East Bonacre Road will close

East Bonacre Road is in Cataula, in Harris County just west of Columbus. According to the Ledger-Enquirer report, the closure runs from US 27/SR 1 to the road's split with Janet Drive. Those are the two limits the report gives, and this story does not describe the geography beyond them.

The construction is part of GDOT's project to widen US 27, also known as Martha Berry Highway. The project runs from Turnberry Lane in Muscogee County to SR 315 in Harris County. That is why Columbus-area drivers who use US 27 may feel the effects.

The three-month period is an estimate, not a guaranteed schedule. GDOT said the road should reopen in three months if weather permits, according to the newspaper. No calendar date for reopening has been announced.

How to follow the Grey Rock Road detour

Drivers who normally use East Bonacre Road will be directed to Grey Rock Road and US 27. That is the detour named in the GDOT announcement as reported by the Ledger-Enquirer. Drivers should use the named roads rather than guess at other routes.

The report does not give separate directions for each direction of travel or each starting point. It also does not say whether residents, school buses or other local traffic will keep access to parts of the closed road. Those details are unconfirmed.

Drivers who want current conditions can check 511ga.org or call 511, the statewide road-conditions service. Readers should confirm details on the 511 site before relying on them. Checking before a trip is a simple way to avoid surprises if conditions change.

Why East Bonacre Road is closing

The closure is tied to GDOT's project to widen US 27/SR 1/Martha Berry Highway. The Ledger-Enquirer reported that the project has a budget of about $72.3 million, a figure it attributed to the Columbus Consolidated Government. A Harris County website posting dated Nov. 2 says the closure is for road milling and leveling as part of the widening project and that the work is funded through Georgia's Transportation Investment Act program.

According to GDOT, as reported by the newspaper, the widening is expected to be done in summer 2027, and the Harris County posting describes the target as early summer 2027. That date applies to the larger project, not to the closure. The report does not give a separate cost for the East Bonacre Road work.

What the originally proposed design called for

A Harris County posting of a GDOT public-meeting notice from 2019 describes the originally proposed design. It would widen the existing two-lane and three-lane SR 1/US 27 to a four-lane section with a 4-foot flush median. That work ran from Turnberry Lane in Muscogee County to just north of East Bonacre Road in Harris County.

From there, the notice called for overlaying the existing roadway to SR 315 in Cataula. It also proposed a new-location roundabout where SR 315 meets SR 1/US 27. Because the notice is from 2019, the current plans may differ, and the sources reviewed do not say.

The notice was for a July 8, 2019, open house at Pierce Chapel United Methodist Church, 5122 Pierce Chapel Road, in Midland. It is useful background on what the project was first meant to do. It should not be read as confirmation of the current construction plans.

Another closure on the same corridor

A separate Ledger-Enquirer report, carried by Yahoo and dated Sept. 16, said Pierce Chapel Road, between US 27/SR 1 and Blackmon Road, was announced to close starting Sept. 21 for an estimated two weeks, weather permitting. The report said crews would mill and lower the roadway surface there to align it with the plans for US 27/SR 1. The same report said the widening is expected to be completed next summer.

That timing matches the summer 2027 completion attributed to GDOT in the October report. Neither report gives a firm date for all work along the corridor. Readers should treat both dates as estimates.

What GDOT is asking residents to do

The GDOT release, as reported, asks residents to help spread the word. "Local residents are encouraged to share information regarding this alert," the release says, "so that all can be prepared for this temporary situation." The quote was reproduced in the Ledger-Enquirer's Oct. 27 report.

The announcement names the closed segment, the expected duration and the detour. It also makes the reopening estimate depend on the weather. Those points are what drivers need to plan around the closure.

Planning around a three-month closure

A closure that lasts about three months is long enough to change daily routines. Drivers who use East Bonacre Road may want to try the Grey Rock Road and US 27 route before Nov. 9 if they can do so safely. That is a suggestion, not a GDOT instruction, and the report does not say how the detour will be marked.

Because the reopening depends on the weather, the three months could be shorter or longer. If work is delayed, the road could stay closed past the estimate. Checking 511ga.org or calling 511 from time to time is the simplest way to see whether conditions have changed.

What to know before Nov. 9

• Closure begins: Monday, Nov. 9, 2026
• Location: East Bonacre Road in Cataula, from US 27/SR 1 to its split with Janet Drive
• Expected duration: About three months, weather permitting
• Detour: Grey Rock Road and US 27
• Related project: US 27/SR 1/Martha Berry Highway widening, Turnberry Lane in Muscogee County to SR 315 in Harris County
• Reported budget: About $72.3 million (attributed to the Columbus Consolidated Government in the Ledger-Enquirer report)
• Expected completion: Summer 2027, according to GDOT as reported
• Road conditions: 511ga.org or 511