WEST FORSYTH — The state Department of Transportation will present the results of its analysis of ways to improve a 24-mile stretch of Hwy. 20 west of Cumming at two open houses this week.

The meetings are set for 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday at Calvary Baptist Church, 137 Hightower Road (Hwy. 369) in Ball Ground, and Thursday at Otwell Middle School, 605 Tribble Gap Road, in Cumming.

Included in the information presented will be an explanation of the alternatives no longer under consideration and reviews of those recommended for additional study.

The route, which has become a major east-west thoroughfare for the northern edge of metro Atlanta, has stirred concerns from residents and the commuting public over “congestion, limited mobility and safety issues.”

According to the DOT, there are three viable options for improving the heavily traveled expanse between Interstate 575 in Canton to Ga. 400 in Cumming: leave it as is; widen it; or a combination of widening and localized bypasses.

The DOT has eliminated alternatives that called for the creation of northern and/or southern routes on either side of the existing highway.

This project remains separate from the widening of 7.5 miles of Hwy. 20 east of Cumming, between Samples Road in east Forsyth and Peachtree Industrial Boulevard in Gwinnett County.

That effort, which includes new bridges over the Chattahoochee River, is well under way.