"We know both Hobgood Park and the Recycling Center get a tremendous amount of use by our residents, and we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause as the work on Bells Ferry Road continues." Bryan Reynolds, Cherokee County's Community Services Agency Director, said that in March, when the county announced that Hobgood's Bells Ferry Road entrance would close.
The gate closed on Monday, March 16, 2026. Astra Group LLC, the Georgia Department of Transportation's contractor on the job, said it "would likely reopen by Spring 2027."
From the Summerchase pool at 2102 Summerchase Drive, Hobgood's Bells Ferry Road address is about a mile to the northwest as the crow flies. That makes the 60-acre park at Bells Ferry Road and Towne Lake Parkway the closest big county park for most Summer Chase households.
Spring 2027 is a gate date. The road itself runs on a longer schedule, and that's what decides how you'll get in and out of the park for the next two years.
Two dates, two different things
The county's March notice said the widening "is expected to be completed in 2027." GDOT's own paperwork says something else. In its March 3, 2025 release announcing the contract award, the agency gave a completion date of October 31, 2028. GDOT's GeoPI project page for PI 0013526 still lists 10/31/2028 as the current completion date.
Milestone | Date | Who said it |
|---|---|---|
Notice to Proceed issued to Astra Group LLC | March 27, 2025 | GDOT GeoPI |
Construction officially underway | May 15, 2025 | GDOT |
Hobgood's Bells Ferry entrance closes | March 16, 2026 | Cherokee County |
Entrance expected to reopen | "Likely by Spring 2027" | Astra Group LLC, via the county |
Widening complete | 2027 per the county's March 2026 notice; October 31, 2028 per GDOT | County and GDOT |
Bells Ferry Road bridge over Lake Allatoona | Expected 2028 | Cherokee County |
GeoPI also shows the project at 33.07% complete. The page carries no update date, so that figure tells you the project is underway but doesn't tell you when it was measured.
The most recent county item we found on the gate is from May 19, 2026. It still described the Bells Ferry entrance as closed and sent people to the Towne Lake Parkway side for a June 13 5K. We found no later county notice that changes the spring 2027 forecast.
Getting into Hobgood this fall
The county's directions are short. To reach the Recycling Center drop-off and the park's amenities, use the Towne Lake Parkway entrance.
The recycling drop-off is a recent addition in its own right. In July 2025, the Board of Commissioners announced that a temporary drop-off site had opened at Hobgood. The county said it was working on a permanent spot inside the park, but that the permanent site depends on GDOT's Bells Ferry widening and on "the park's new entrance." So the drop-off you use today is a stopgap, and its permanent home is tied to the same construction that closed the gate.
Behind the Towne Lake Parkway entrance, the park is fully in use. The Cherokee Recreation and Parks Agency lists these facilities:
- Four lighted softball diamonds and six baseball diamonds, labeled fields 1 through 10 on the park's site tour
- Two batting cages and an artificial-turf field
- Four tennis courts, listed as open
- A half-mile walking track
- An amphitheater, three pavilions, picnic areas, a playground, a concession stand, and restrooms
The agency describes Hobgood as a home for youth baseball and adult softball leagues and tournaments. That's why field traffic, and not just recycling runs, sets the pace at the Towne Lake Parkway gate on busy weekends.
What's on the calendar between now and Halloween
Live Like Laken 5K, Saturday, October 24, 2026, 8 to 11 a.m. The county's event page lists it at Hobgood, 6688 Bells Ferry Road. That's the address of the closed gate. For the June 13 5K, the county told participants to come in from Towne Lake Parkway, and the same entrance applies here unless the county says otherwise.
Cherokee Senior Softball Association, fall season through October. The association says its Fall 2026 season runs from August to October, with nine morning and evening leagues. Its announcement placed new-player evaluations at Hobgood Field 4. It didn't publish a game-by-game field schedule, so check with the association before heading over.
Fall is a good time to walk the half-mile track, use the tennis courts, or take the kids to the playground. All of them are reachable through the Towne Lake Parkway entrance.
When a different park makes more sense
The county's March notice listed alternatives for anyone trying to avoid the construction zone:
- Recycling at the county facility at 470 Blalock Road, Canton.
- Patriots Park, 1485 Kellogg Creek Road, Woodstock, with playground amenities and walking paths. It's also home to Pawtriots, the county's off-leash dog area. Hobgood's amenity list doesn't include a dog park, so Patriots is the closer fit for dog owners.
- Lewis Park, 200 East Bells Ferry Road, Woodstock.
- JJ Biello Park, 610 Druw Cameron Court, Woodstock.
For the full list of county parks, see playcherokee.org.
What Bells Ferry Road looks like when it's done
This is the part of the project that lasts longest for Summer Chase. GDOT and the county describe 2.4 miles of Bells Ferry Road, from Southfork Way to Victoria Road, going from two lanes to four with a raised median. The project also adds multi-use sidepaths, relocates utilities, and improves visibility on the curves leading into signalized intersections. GDOT's project title puts the limits at north of Victory Drive to south of Port Victoria Way.
The biggest change for drivers is a new kind of intersection. Some intersections along the route will become Reduced Conflict U-Turns, or RCUTs. Others will stay controlled by traffic signals. Here's how the county describes an RCUT:
Traffic on side roads cannot turn left or cross the main road at the intersection. Drivers turn right, then make a U-turn at the next break in the median.
The county says RCUTs "eliminate dangerous crossings that can result in severe crashes." The published material doesn't say which intersections get RCUTs. Until it does, plan for some left turns onto Bells Ferry eventually becoming a right turn followed by a U-turn.
The sidepaths may matter more to anyone who walks or bikes. GDOT's 2018 concept called for a 10-foot shared-use path on one side of the road and a 5-foot sidewalk on the other. That handout is from the planning stage, and the final build may differ, but the current project descriptions still include multi-use sidepaths.
Some things fall outside this project. The widening covers the southern Southfork-to-Victoria segment. It doesn't reach the Bells Ferry intersections at Sixes Road or BridgeMill, which the county studies separately as part of a longer corridor. The Bells Ferry Road bridge over Lake Allatoona is also a separate project, and the county expects it to finish in 2028.
The numbers, for the record
GDOT's March 2025 award release valued the contract at $36.5 million. Its May 2025 release, announcing that work had begun, put it at $37.2 million. Both name Astra Group LLC as the contractor. We didn't find a published lane-closure schedule for this fall in the official material we reviewed. GDOT points drivers to 511ga.org, the Georgia 511 app, or a call to 511 for real-time work-zone conditions before heading out.
Until the county posts a reopening notice, the reliable route to Hobgood's fields, track, playground, and recycling drop-off is through the Towne Lake Parkway entrance. That holds for the Live Like Laken 5K on October 24 too.
Wondering how the next two years of Bells Ferry construction near Summer Chase plays into a sale or purchase timeline? Broadus Realty Group keeps tabs on the Bells Ferry schedule, and we're happy to walk you through what it means for your plans. Reach out with your questions anytime.
