The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners recently approved more than $548 million worth of transportation projects funded by the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax program.
Voters in November 2022 approved a renewal of the penny sales tax that took effect April 1. The tax, which was previously extended in 2017, is expected to generate $1.35 billion over six years, divided between Gwinnett County and its 16 cities based on population.
“It’s through the voters’ commitment to improving our transportation system that we are able to move improvements forward, so we are very thankful for their approval,” Gwinnett Department of Transportation Director Lewis Cooksey told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
County commissioners last week approved a citizens’ committee’s list of recommended transportation projects, totaling $483 million with another $54 million in second-tier projects if funding allows.
The largest allocations went to major roads, intersections and sidewalks and pedestrian safety.
Additionally, the county will be replacing five bridges that cross creeks or tributaries. They are located on Drowning Creek, East Jones Bridge, Ingram, Martin Nash and Williams Roads.
“They are safe for travel, but due to their age and rating, we are looking forward to replacing them,” Cooksey said.
SPLOST money will also provide matching funds for a federal grant to study the feasibility of eliminating three CSX railroad crossings in the Lilburn and Lawrenceville areas. The tax will also fund land purchases and the eventual construction of bridges over the tracks to reduce congestion.
More than $57 million will go to new sidewalks, trails and pedestrian safety, including projects to improve pedestrian crossings in key areas.
“As the county has grown, we have new activity centers that need to be connected to new residential areas,” Cooksey said.
Other funding is earmarked to improve major crossings along the I-85 corridor, such as Jimmy Carter Boulevard, Pleasant Hill Road and Lawrenceville-Suwanee Road.
Collections for the 2017 SPLOST ended March 31. That tax was expected to generate $950 million but brought in more than $53 million extra, according to county records.
Of that, more than $12 million will be spent on intersections, road safety, improvements around schools and sidewalk projects identified by the citizens’ transportation project committee for the 2017 SPLOST.
Cooksey expected construction to begin within a year on the projects from the 2017 SPLOST. Those from the 2023 SPLOST could begin within a year if they are small-scale, but larger projects such as interchanges could go through years of permitting first.
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