County to apply for state transportation grants

The Gwinnett Board of Commissioners on March 20 voted to apply for $3.5 million in grants through the State Road and Tollway Authority, or SRTA.

The grants will come from the Georgia Transportation Infrastructure Bank program for improvements in Peachtree Corners and Lawrenceville.

The county will request $2 million to supplement local funds being used to widen Spalding Drive from Winters Chapel Road to just west of the intersection with S.R. 140/Holcomb Bridge Road for a distance of about six-tenths of a mile. The widening project will help to alleviate congestion and improve safety along this regional traffic corridor. The bridge over Crooked Creek will also be replaced and sidewalks installed along the bridge and throughout the length of the project.

This project will be coordinated by Gwinnett, Peachtree Corners and Sandy Springs. Total estimated project cost is $11.5 million, with a total local commitment of $9.5 million, or 82.6 percent. The GTIB grant request is for 17.4 percent of the total project value. Gwinnett’s share of the funding would come from the 2014 and 2017 SPLOST programs.

Gwinnett will also request $1.5 million in grant funds to cover a portion of the cost to install two roundabouts on Constitution Boulevard in Lawrenceville. The first will be installed at the intersection of Constitution Boulevard and Langley Drive, which is currently a fourway stop. If funding allows, another roundabout will be installed at the intersection of Constitution Boulevard and Nash Street.