Ga. Contributes Funds for Sugarloaf Parkway Extension

The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners has approved a contract with the Georgia Department of Transportation that will provide $2.5 million in state funds for the Sugarloaf Parkway Extension from New Hope Road to Martins Chapel Road. State DOT Board member Rudy Bowen was instrumental in obtaining these funds to supplement the County’s Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) funding of the project.

This work is the second of three projects to extend Sugarloaf Parkway from its current terminus at State Route 20 south of Lawrenceville to State Route 316 in the Dacula area. When completed, this project will provide a four-lane, divided, limited-access roadway with interchanges at New Hope Road, Martins Chapel Road, Campbell Road and SR 316.

The project will improve mobility in the central and eastern part of Gwinnett County, relieving congestion by providing an additional travel alternative between south Lawrenceville/Grayson and the Dacula area. When combined with the second phase of the extension (SR 316 to Peachtree Industrial Boulevard), the project will also enhance access between the south Lawrenceville/Grayson area and the Suwanee/Sugar Hill/Buford area.

The construction has been awarded to Sunbelt Structures, Inc. The County’s SPLOST program provides more than $22 million for construction in addition to the state funding. Work on this section is expected to be completed in the first half of 2011.

Construction of the first section (SR 20 to New Hope Road) began in late 2007 and is on schedule to be completed in early 2010. Preliminary engineering work is being done on the third section (Martins Chapel Road to SR 316) with construction expected to get underway in late 2009. The County continues to preserve the route of Phase II (SR 316 to Peachtree Industrial Boulevard) through advanced acquisitions.