If you’ve ever been stuck in traffic on Route 20 over the Chattahoochee River, you know the need for getting through that bottleneck more quickly.
If you’ve ever fished under the existing Chattahoochee River bridge on Route 20, you know the need for conserving the river for the future.
Time will tell if enough has been considered to protect our beloved Chattahoochee, but the solution to the traffic problem should be settled in a few years. Just in time for traffic to double and be all tangled up again.
State Route 20 will be widened to a four-lane divided highway for 1.079 miles and two parallel bridges over the Chattahoochee River will be constructed, according to the Georgia Department of Transportation.
The project for the 1.079 mile long widening of SR 20 — from west of Ruth Lane to east of Riverside Road — was awarded to C.W. Matthews Contracting, Inc. of Marietta for a contract price of $10,239,970.84.
We do not know if the bridges will look similar to Gainesville’s Bridge to Nowhere, but we are certain they will be more worthwhile.
Work is expected to begin early this summer. Construction details and lane closure schedules on all projects will be forthcoming before work begins.
Completion date is May 31, 2016.
“This is great news for our community. Gwinnett County is reviewing bids now and is expected to award the widening of SR 20 from Peachtree Industrial Boulevard to this bridge project to a contractor in May. Construction will likely begin on both projects late summer or early fall. This transportation investment will improve east west connectivity for the Region,” proclaimed DOT Board Member, Rudy Bowen. Bowen represents southern Forsyth and Gwinnett Counties in the 7th Congressional District.
The Georgia Department of Transportation continues its RoadWorks 2013 construction program. Dozens of important roadway improvement projects are ongoing throughout the state as we work to deliver projects on time and on budget while keeping our transportation network the nation’s finest. Pardon the necessary inconvenience and please drive cautiously and safely at all times, especially in work zones. For more information on Georgia DOT, please visit www.dot.ga.gov or subscribe to our Press Release RSS feed. You also may follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/GeorgiaDOT) and Twitter (http://twitter.com/
