New GA 400 Interchange in Forsyth County?
A proposal to construct a new interchange on Georgia 400 in south Forsyth County is in the works.
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A new interchange on Georgia 400 and McGinnis Ferry Road in south Forsyth County may be on the horizon, according to a press release from the Georgia House of Representatives.
The Georgia Department of Transportation on Thursday approved an Interchange Justification Report (IJR) on the proposed project much to the delight of the Forsyth County Legislative Delegation.
State lawmakers from Forsyth, North Fulton, Dawson, Cherokee and Lumpkin counties, who make up the delegation, have long supported the road project.
“We are very pleased that this important new interchange received approval from the Federal Highway Administration and GDOT," the delegation said. "A new interchange at 400 and McGinnis Ferry will provide improved mobility and drive economic development in our growing community."
The delegation also said they will continue to work diligently for additional approvals and funding for this project.
While construction funding for the interchange has not yet been programmed, GDOT plans to utilize federal funds previously earmarked for the project to begin preliminary design work in fiscal year 2014, the press release stated.
Former U.S. Representative John Linder and U.S. Representative Lynn Westmoreland previously set aside a total of $3.5 million to be used on the estimated $22 million project.
“This is a long-awaited and much needed interchange,” said State Transportation Board Member Rudy Bowen. “The department has spent more than $70 million in recent years upgrading McGinnis Ferry Road and improving east-west mobility for Forsyth, Gwinnett and North Fulton motorists. This will be a continuation of those efforts.”
Transportation Board Member Emily Dunn said she was delighted with the proposed project.
“Forsyth County is not only a wonderful place to live; it is developing into a huge economic driver for the Metro Northside," she said. "Better connectivity to GA 400 will complement both of those attributes.”
The purpose of an IJR is to analyze the impact and suitability of proposed or possible new interchanges on the operational integrity of the affected highway. In this instance, GDOT engineers and planners reviewed the IJR submitted by Forsyth County and concluded the proposed interchange would provide operational improvement in the area.
What are your thoughts about the projected interchange, do you think it will help with traffic flow on 400?
Editor's Note: The Forsyth County Legislative Delegation includes: Rep. Mark Hamilton (R-Cumming), Rep. Geoff Duncan (R-Cumming), Rep. Calvin Hill (R-Canton), Rep. Mike Dudgeon (R-Johns Creek), Rep. Kevin Tanner (R-Dawsonville), Sen. Jack Murphy (R-Cumming) and Sen. Steve Gooch (R-Dahlonega).
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Neil Stapley
5:25 pm on Friday, February 22, 2013
Wonderful The DoT should be coming up with ways of getting people out of their cars and off 400 not making it easier to get on it.
Paul Freet
7:51 am on Saturday, February 23, 2013
This is terrific news for Forsyth County and I fully support this.
Always amused by those who want to "get people out of their cars" because what they are really asking is how to get "other people" out of their cars, not them. If you really just want to be out of "your car", please ride the XPress Bus. http://www.xpressga.com/
Allen
8:08 am on Saturday, February 23, 2013
What about road work of Bethelview road. Why the heck are they only widening it to the intersection of Castleberry . Why not all the way to highway 20 like the first proposal years ago. Has any one from GDOT ever been on that over congested road?
Kirk Nelson
10:12 am on Saturday, February 23, 2013
Bethelview is a county road. GDOT has no say.
Etact
12:01 am on Monday, February 25, 2013
Any additional relief from 400 is welcomed. But let's think about this for a minute: Is an exit between Windward and McFarland really necessary? How many vehicles would really be offloaded from 400 on an exit between Windward and McFarland? I both live and work in the area, and do not see where there would be a huge demand of traffic flow on McGinnis Ferry to the east (which McFarland intersects just a couple miles up) and west where it splits off to Bethany Bend and Morris. It just seems redundant. There are plenty of back roads to take both east and west of 400 from the three exits between Old Milton and Peachtree Parkway to get to your destination.
carol-jane
3:08 pm on Sunday, March 24, 2013
I too work, travel and own property that area and have thought an exit in that area is overdue . It seems a logical placement to those of us who have seen the growth in the last decade. It always seemed to me there should have been an exit there from Ga.400's inception.
Jack Gleason
11:13 am on Monday, February 25, 2013
I "Live, Learn, Work, and Play" in the area too, and over the last ten years this projects necessity has become blatantly oblivious for the post 4 pm backup on Northbound Hwy. 400 that this interchange would very effectively relieve today.
Looking forward, there's literally square-miles of both residential and commercial development slated for that area upon Ronald Regan Road between McGinnis Ferry and McFarland Roads, and because Union Hill is too close to Hwy. 400 McFarland Exit 12 THIS "Interchange" represents the best placement of any "New" Hwy. 400 Interchange construed to service that growth, especially for it's position being relatively closer to "Between" Windward Pkwy. and McFarland today, as DOT design guidelines predicate that interchanges aren't built within One mile of another.
Jack Gleason
11:22 am on Monday, February 25, 2013
@ E.T.: Those "Backroads" of which You speak thread throughout "Residential Communities" that people such as I "Live, Learn, Work, and Play" within, and suffer Quality of Life (QOL) and Level Of Service (LOS) issues for it today ~ and left-to-suffer as You imply surely won't improve what accommodation is needed of that growth and development planned, approved, and slated of tomorrow.