Outside Harbor Club's Gate, Highway 44 Is Being Rebuilt. Here's What Changes North and South
November 5, 2026
November 5, 2026
Publix scheduled its new Town Center at Lake Oconee store to open Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026. The 50,325-square-foot store has a pharmacy and sits at 105 Lake Country Blvd. in Eatonton. The road that takes Harbor Club to that store is on a much longer schedule. The Georgia Department of Transportation's current completion date for the widening segment that runs past Harbor Club is Aug. 31, 2030.
That gap sets the pattern for Lake Oconee Parkway over the next few years. Shopping is arriving at both ends of the corridor fast. The stretch in the middle, which Harbor Club drives every day, is the slowest-moving construction zone of the phases already underway.
GDOT is widening SR 44 from two lanes to four in three phases. The project runs about 10.5 miles, from Old Phoenix Road/Harmony Road to just north of I-20. Each phase is on its own clock, according to GDOT's project hub and its GeoPI project records.
| Phase | Segment | Status | Construction estimate | Key date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phase I, PI 0019696 | South of King Drive to the East Greensboro Bypass | Under construction | 18 to 24 months | Completion listed as Nov. 29, 2028 |
| Phase II, PI 0019697 | Carey Station Road to south of King Drive, about 3.74 miles | Under construction | 40 to 48 months | Completion listed as Aug. 31, 2030 |
| Phase III, PI 0006253 | Harmony Road/Phoenix Road to Carey Station Road, about 5.27 miles | Final design | 52 to 60 months | Contractor bidding moved to May 2027 |
Phase II is the segment outside Harbor Club. GDOT estimates it will take roughly twice as long to build as Phase I, and it attributes the difference between phases to the time each one needs for utility relocations. Phase II received its notice to proceed on June 11, 2026, so the work outside the gate is still in its first year.
According to Lake Oconee News, Pittman Construction Company started Phase II work in late July 2026. Crews began by clearing the west side of Highway 44 from the Richland Connector down past Harbor Club. The clearing makes room for erosion control and for relocating utilities. Will Volk, GDOT's District 2 Communications Officer, told the paper to "expect to see clearing throughout the length of the project," and he said, "Significant disruptions to traffic are not expected soon."
Volk also said lane closures are possible throughout the project, depending on where crews need to work. For now, the bare ground along the shoulder is the most visible change on the drive out to Lake Oconee Parkway. It will be part of the view for a while.
Over the course of Phase II, two intersections near Harbor Club are scheduled to become roundabouts. GDOT's list of seven planned roundabouts includes SR 44 at Carey Station Road and SR 44 at the Richland Connector. It also includes Carriage Lane/Airabella Blvd. and Linger Longer Road/Westend Park in Greene County. GDOT notes that the roundabouts in its public layouts are still drafts and do not show the final impacts or right of way.
The new Publix is part of Lake Country Village, a mixed-use project from developer Shaifer Partners. The project includes retail, a hotel and conference center, and single- and multifamily homes. According to the Eatonton Messenger, it sits across Highway 44 from Harmony Crossing. Shaifer Partners held its June 2025 groundbreaking on the construction site next to Lake Oconee Ace Hardware, at State Route 44 and Mahaffey Drive.
GDOT changed the road there before the store opened. Lake Oconee News reported in September that a new signal at Lake Oconee Parkway was scheduled to go live Sept. 22. The intersection connects the Publix entrance on the east side with the Harmony Crossing plaza on the west. GDOT said a traffic study showed the signal was warranted, and that without one, drivers on the side roads would face large delays. That signal is a stopgap. Once widening reaches that end of the corridor, the intersection is slated to become one of the seven roundabouts, listed as Harmony Plaza/Lake Country Village.
So the new grocery store has a signal now and a roundabout planned, while the Phase III road work in front of it won't even go out for bids until May 2027.
Harmony Crossing, across the parkway from the new store, gives the trip south a dinner option. The center's dining directory lists:
The full list is on the Harmony Crossing dining page. Hours change, so check with a restaurant before planning a night around it.
At the other end of the corridor, the next big retail change is further off. Oconee Towne Center is a planned retail and dining center of more than 43 acres near Highway 44 and I-20. As of March 2026, Lake Oconee News reported that the project had cleared a second review and still needed final plat approval.
That March report describes the planned anchors by category only: a clothing and home-goods retailer, a national grocery store of about 100,000 square feet, and a fishing and sporting-goods retailer. It forecast grading and utility work wrapping up in fall 2026 and center construction starting in early 2027. It also said some stores could open as early as late 2027 or the first quarter of 2028.
Those are spring 2026 projections, and the report gives no opening date for the grocery tenant itself. Even the earliest forecast store openings fall well before Phase II's listed completion date of Aug. 31, 2030, so the north end could gain new shops while the work outside Harbor Club is still going.
When all three phases are done, the drive changes in a few ways. GDOT describes four lanes throughout. Urban sections get 4-foot bike lanes, 5-foot sidewalks and a 16-foot raised median. Rural sections get 6-foot paved shoulders and either a 32-foot depressed median or a 24-foot raised median. The posted speed limit in rural sections would stay at 55 mph, and GDOT says it does not plan to lower the existing limit.
The medians will also limit left turns. GDOT's preferred spacing for median openings is 1,320 feet in rural areas and 1,000 feet in urban areas. On a divided four-lane road, some trips that are a simple left turn today could mean driving to the next opening or roundabout and coming back. Phase II will also get landscaping, with plans being developed with input from the counties.
The road work outside Harbor Club will last for years, but downtown Greensboro's holiday calendar is set for the next several weeks. These are the dates listed on the Downtown Greensboro events page:
If you're heading to the Holiday Open House, give yourself extra time on Highway 44. GDOT has said lane closures can happen wherever crews are working.
If you have questions about how the Highway 44 work could affect a Harbor Club home you own or are thinking about selling, Lacie Groeninger keeps up with this corridor and is glad to talk it over. Let's Connect.
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