Publix has not announced a date for the grand opening of its new store in the Lake Country Village/Towne Center development in Putnam County, but the Georgia Department of Transportation has already made changes to the roadway in preparation.
According to a sign put up near Ace Hardware, a new traffic signal at the intersection of Lake Oconee Parkway and the entrance to Publix on the east side and the Harmony Crossing plaza on the west was supposed to go live this week but that has been postponed until Sept. 22.
Additional time is needed to install permanent striping before making the signal live, according to Will Volk, the GDOT’s District 2 Communications Officer. The message boards should be updated soon if they haven’t already.
GDOT determined that the signal is warranted to improve traffic operation. Based on a traffic study, volume thresholds are met by SR 44 and the side roads. The no-build alternative would’ve have caused large delays for drivers on the side roads, including Harmony Crossing and the new shopping center.
According to GDOT’s Facebook page, contract bidding has been delayed for Phase 3:
“We have shifted the date for contractors to bid on Phase 3 of the SR 44 widening project to May 2027. Extra time is required to acquire all right of way needed for the project.”
The previous deadline for property owners to sign right-of-way acquisition agreements had been Sept. 1.
Phase 3 will widen SR 44 between Harmony Rd./Phoenix Rd. and Carey Station Rd. Phase 1 and 2 construction is ongoing.
According to the Publix Facebook page, a walk-in hiring event for the new store was held at the Lake Oconee Village location on Sept. 11-12. Sources have indicated the store may open in mid-November.
Publix operates 1,442 stores in eight states with 897 grocery outlets in Florida, 219 in Georgia and 74 in South Carolina. Another 156 locations can be found in North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Kentucky.
Publix was founded in 1930 in Winter Haven, Florida by George W. Jenkins.
According to the store’s website, Publix is the largest employee owned company in the United States and among the 10 largest-volume supermarket chains. Retail sales reached $62.7 billion in 2025 and the company now employs 260,000 people.
The most recent addition to the Publix chain opened in Ruskin, Florida near Tampa on Aug. 13, 2026.
According to plans released by GDOT, widening of Lake Oconee Parkway (Phase 3) is scheduled to begin in 2027.