Hamilton Mill Road Widening on County’s TSPLOST Wish List

A $50.7 million project to widen Hamilton Mill Road from two to four lanes from Buford Highway to Braselton Highway is one of 73 transportation projects Gwinnett County officials have submitted to the state transportation planning director and the Atlanta Regional Commission for inclusion in the metro Atlanta region’s project list for the Transportation Investment Act of 2010.

Gwinnett, along with the nine other counties in the metro Atlanta region, was asked to submit potential transportation projects to be funded by a 1 percent that voters will be asked to approve next year. Officials estimate the TSPLOST could generate as much as $7 billion over the 10-year duration of the tax.

Other area transportation projects on the county’s list include a $160.2 million project to widen Braselton Highway from Highway 20 to the Barrow County line and : replacing/widening the Dacula Road Bridge at Highway 29, widening Harbins Road to four lanes, extending Sugarloaf Parkway from Highway 316 to State Route 20 and building a Winder Highway bike trail from Dacula to Athens.

The project wish list also allocates $100 million for an “I-85 Corridor Alternative Analysis” and over $1 billion for five light rail projects that would extend rail service from the Doraville MARTA to the Gwinnett Arena.

The list will be reviewed by Georgia DOT Planning Director Todd Long before being submitted to the Metro Atlanta Regional Roundtable for final consideration. The roundtable includes the mayor of Atlanta, mayors from each of the 10 counties and 10 county commission chairs including . Norcross Mayor Bucky Johnson is also a member of the roundtable.

"I believe the joint effort of the Gwinnett cities, the County and CIDs have resulted in a good first step of the process outlined in the 2010 Transportation Investment Act,” said Bucky Johnson, Norcross Mayor, in a released statement. “I trust that Gwinnett's effort will help streamline the next steps required of the Regional Roundtable. Ultimately, our citizens will authorize the projects, and our voters deserve our best efforts to insure municipal, county and regional projects are all included."

According to a Gwinnett County press release, the project selection process will include “substantial” public involvement. The county’s list was produced through the combined efforts of Gwinnett County officials, the cities and four Community Improvement Districts (CIDs).

“Through this collaborative effort, Gwinnett County, its cities and CIDs have compiled a broad range of transportation projects,” said Charlotte Nash, Gwinnett County Chairman. “I want to emphasize that the submission of the potential project list is the beginning of the selection process. The public will have multiple opportunities to affect the final project list and will ultimately determine if the slate of approved projects is worthy of a positive vote in the referendum.”