Forsyth County warns of lane closure on Sanders Road through July 15
A Sanders Road lane closure is set to squeeze lake trips, school runs and commutes until July 15 as crews install a 36-inch return flow pipeline.
Drivers heading between Buford Dam Road and Mary Alice Park Road are facing a single-lane closure on Sanders Road that Forsyth County says will last through July 15, a stretch that could slow school runs, work commutes and summer trips to Lake Lanier. The county says delays are likely as crews install the Return Flow Pipeline, and the impact will be felt most by anyone using that corridor as a daily connector in northwest Forsyth County.
The work is concentrated on Sanders Road because the route carries both neighborhood traffic and lake-bound drivers. County materials say the contractor is installing a 36-inch pipeline below the northbound lane and restoring pavement, which explains why the restriction is expected to last for weeks rather than days. For drivers trying to move through the area at the same time every day, the practical advice is to build in extra time and expect the lane pattern to change the pace of travel.
The project is part of Forsyth County’s larger Return Flow System, which county materials say will convey highly treated water from the Fowler Water Reclamation Facility back to Lake Lanier. The county links that effort to its favorable 2021 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the Tri-State Water Wars litigation, and describes the broader strategy as a One Water approach that pairs a lake intake facility with the return flow pipeline.
The full project includes a new pump station at Fowler WRF, a return flow pipeline that is approximately nine miles long, and an outfall pipeline and diffuser installed in Lake Lanier. Georgia Environmental Protection Division documents say the work is intended to accommodate planned residential and commercial growth in Forsyth County, while warning that temporary construction impacts can include noise, dust and erosion or sedimentation controls.
Sanders Road is not the only place tied to the project to see traffic effects. Forsyth County previously warned of intermittent lane closures near Exit 13 on SR 400 and Pendley Road during fieldwork, and a prior county notice in 2025 said Sanders Road work would begin June 2 and last about five weeks. The current schedule stretches the inconvenience into mid-July, but it also reflects the scale of the water infrastructure being put in place.
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