Department of Transportation crews will be finishing work on the new and improved Interstate 985 today.

Spokeswoman Teri Pope said the last part of the major I-985 overhaul will take place this morning.

“(Today) by lunch we will open that last ramp from Atlanta Highway to 985 southbound and that will be the last piece of the puzzle,” Pope said. “The actual completion date is New Year’s Eve of this year, so (today) when we open that ramp it will be more than two months ahead of schedule. We’re very proud to be getting this done early and getting out of everybody’s way and letting them enjoy not only widened Mundy Mill Road and widened Atlanta Highway but also the new access at Exit 17.”

Pope said though the majority of the project will be complete, crews will still be out finishing up detail work for the remainder of the week.

“We still have some punch list work to do on the project,” Pope said. “Next week we will be working at night on 985 both northbound and southbound from south of Mundy Mill to north of Atlanta Highway.”Pope said the Department of Transportation will be installing rumble strips along the shoulders of the highway this week, which will cause lane closures at night.

Earlier this week, southbound lanes near Exit 17 were realigned.

“We shifted traffic back to the original alignment of 985 southbound. It was shifted over in December of 2007... so that we could widen the 985 southbound bridge over Mundy Mill Road,” Pope said. “Mundy Mill used to be just two lanes in each direction. We widened it to three lanes in each direction.”

Pope said once the new exit is opened people should drive cautiously to avoid accidents on the unfamiliar roadway.

“It is a loop ramp so I want to remind folks to slow down, be careful the first couple times they use it,” Pope said.

The new exit should give better access to Gainesville State College and Lanier Technical College and help alleviate traffic on roads near the schools.

“We want to thank folks for living through the construction; it’s never fun but hopefully they can see the results now,” Pope said.