Politics & Government

Norcross Submits Over $1 Billion in Transportation Projects for 'Wish List'

The City of Norcross and the Gwinnett Village CID have many high-dollar transportation projects that will be considered for the Transportation Investment Act, including Light Rail.

Gwinnett County has agreed on a “wish list” of transportation projects in advance of a referendum for a 10-year, one percent regional transportation sales tax to be considered by voters in 2012.

Over $1.28 billion in projects submitted by the City of Norcross and the Gwinnett Village CID made the Gwinnett cut and will now be considered for inclusion on a combined list by the Atlanta Regional Roundtable. The projects include:

-Buford Highway at Jimmy Carter Boulevard Intersection Improvement, submitted by the Gwinnett Village CID and the City of Norcross. $15 million

Find out what's happening in Norcrosswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

-Heavy Rail Extension, from Doraville MARTA station to Oakcliff (Dekalb County), submitted by the City of Norcross and the Gwinnett Village CID. $140 million

-Hillcrest/Satellite Connector – Bridge across I-85 (with no interchange), submitted by Gwinnett County, the Gwinnett Village CID and the City of Norcross. $41.4 million.

Find out what's happening in Norcrosswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

-I-85 at Jimmy Carter Boulevard - Bridge replacement, submitted by Gwinnett County, the Gwinnett Village CID and the City of Norcross. $79.9 million

- Light Rail from MARTA Doraville Station to Oakcliff Road/New Peachtree Street (Section I), submitted by the Gwinnett Village CID. $68 million

- Light Rail from Oakcliff Road/New Peachtree Street to Gwinnett Village (Section II), submitted by Gwinnett County, the Gwinnett Village CID and the City of Norcross. $262.5 million 

- Light Rail from Gwinnett Village to Indian Trail Park & Ride Lot (Section III), submitted by Gwinnett County, the Gwinnett Village CID and the City of Norcross. $168.75 million

- Light Rail from Indian Trail Park & Ride Lot to Gwinnett Place Mall (Section IV), submitted by Gwinnett County, the Gwinnett Village CID and the City of Norcross. $243.75 million

- Light Rail from Gwinnett Place Mall to Gwinnett Arena (Section V), submitted by Gwinnett County, the Gwinnett Village CID and the City of Norcross. $262.5 million 

"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 Norcross Mayor Bucky Johnson, who is Chair of the Atlanta Regional Transportation Roundtable, in a 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," he said. 

Gwinnett County announced that the list of potential transportation projects was submitted to Georgia Department of Transportation Planning Director Todd Long and the Atlanta Regional Commission on March 30. These projects will be considered for inclusion in the metro Atlanta region’s project list in for the Transportation Investment Act of 2010.

Long will review the list and provide the Metro Atlanta Regional Roundtable with an unconstrained list for funding consideration. The process of selecting projects for the referendum will include public involvement and will continue throughout the summer and fall, according to the announcement.

Gwinnett County, the cities and four CIDs worked together to create the comprehensive, combined list. Gwinnett County submitted projects from the Comprehensive Transportation Plan (CTP), which is part of the county’s 2030 Unified Plan, adopted in 2009. The cities and CIDs selected projects based on the CTP, corridor studies and other approved studies. Gwinnett County did not attempt to prioritize the list or constrain it financially.

The Metro Atlanta Regional Roundtable is made up of the 10 county commission chairs, a mayor from each of the 10 counties and the mayor of Atlanta. Gwinnett Commission Chairman Charlotte Nash and Norcross Mayor Bucky Johnson represent Gwinnett County on the roundtable.

Gwinnett cities started the process of identifying specific transportation projects last November and began working jointly with Gwinnett County in January 2011. 

“Through this collaborative effort, Gwinnett County, its cities and CIDs have compiled a broad range of transportation projects,” stated Charlotte Nash, County Commission Chair. “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.”


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here