Editor's Note: This is the first installment in an occasional series examining Effingham County’s traffic challenges and the steps being taken to improve congestion and safety.

RINCON, Ga. — On a weekday afternoon at the Blue Jay and Midland Road intersection, cars stretch hundreds of yards in every direction. Drivers tap their brakes, inch forward, and wait — sometimes through several signal cycles — just to make a turn. It’s a scene that repeats every morning and evening along Blue Jay Road, Effingham County’s busiest east-west corridor.

County Manager Tim Callanan says addressing these backups has become one of the county’s top priorities.

“Blue Jay is the major east-west corridor for Effingham County,” Callanan said. “It has the most intersections with failing levels of service. It’s the one road that has the most congested intersections in the county.”

Thanks to a new source of funding — the county’s first transportation sales tax, passed in 2021 — improvements are finally within reach. The county has earmarked $192 million for capital projects in 2026, much of it focused on road and traffic upgrades.

Traffic studies measured wait times and volumes at seven major intersections between Sand Hill Road and McCall Road, and all earned a failing grade of “F,” highlighting the urgency of the problem. The findings were incorporated into the Effingham County Transportation Master Plan, which outlines the fixes now moving forward.

Effingham County’s plan represents one of the largest traffic investments in its history — a major push to untangle congestion and keep pace with rapid growth. For residents, the improvements are still a few years away, but for the first time in decades, relief is finally on the horizon.