The weekday commute for thousands of people along State Route 20 in Gwinnett County should be faster in coming years thanks to a road-widening deal approved Tuesday.
The County Commission OK’d a $33.7 million agreement with the state Department of Transportation to widen a 3.7-mile stretch of the important thoroughfare.
The area targeted for widening, from Peachtree Industrial Boulevard to the Chattahoochee River on the western edge of the county, serves about 30,000 cars every weekday, said Alan Chapman, Gwinnett’s deputy transportation director. The road will expand to four lanes in each direction from the current two.
The improvements also include a 44-foot grass median, 16-foot shoulders, curbs and gutters on the outside pavement edges, and five-foot concrete sidewalks on both sides of the roadway. The state previously spent about $30 million for rights of way for the road expansion.
With the completion of this project in 2016, SR 20 will be four lanes for its entire length in Gwinnett.
“It’s a parking lot there now during peak times,” county spokesman Joe Sorenson said of the stretch targeted for widening.
Kim Conroy, the county’s transportation director, said that portion of the road will remain open during construction — part of the reason it will take four years to complete.
“It’s the only good way to get across the river,” Conley said. “It’s a very important road for the region.”
The county will be responsible for the cost of inspection of the construction and materials, which is expected to run about $2.5 million.
But state and federal funds will pay for all of the construction work.
Construction is expected to begin in October — and it can’t happen soon enough for Gwinnett Commissioner Jace Brooks, whose District 1 is home to a portion of the expansion project.
“This is a project the county has been looking at for a number of years and it is absolutely critical,” Brooks said. “Congestion on State Route 20 is pretty extensive and hurts the quality of life.”
The road expansion also runs through Commissioner John Heard’s District 4. He thinks residents will be patient until the work is finished.
“We have a long history of road work in Gwinnett County,” Heard said. “Progress is always painful.”
The bridge over the Chattahoochee also will be expanded to four lanes, but that is considered a separate project. The state currently is bidding out that work.
The state will collaborate with Forsyth County to continue the expansion there in coming years.
“People will be relieved when the project is compete,” Brooks said. “Construction will definitely be frustrating, but people are more forgiving when they see progress.”
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