WEST FORSYTH -- Residents will have another chance to voice their opinions and concerns about improvements being designed for a major commuter highway in west Forsyth.
A public information open house to discuss the project to improve State Route 20 from Canton to Cumming will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 6 from 5-7 p.m. at Otwell Middle School, located at 605 Tribble Gap Road.
“State Route 20 has exceeded its capacity and multiple improvements are needed to improve mobility and enhance safety from I-575 in Cherokee County to Ga. 400 in Forsyth County,” said Katie Strickland, spokeswoman for GDOT District 1.
GDOT is expected to present a concept to widen the road along its existing route and will have project information on display.
A series of public meetings were held in September 2015 on analyses to improve the 24-mile stretch of highway, which has been years in the making and gone through a handful of options.
Hwy. 20, a major east-west thoroughfare for the northern edge of metro Atlanta, has long been associated with “congestion, limited mobility and safety issues.”
The proposed improvement process began in 2007, when GDOT announced a plan to widen Hwy. 20 that included three separate projects that would begin as federal funding became available.
Six years later, that approach was scrapped in favor of a single, regional project spanning 24 miles.
This open house will be the fourth round on the issue since 2013.
Officials have said construction could start in 2022, with designs targeting growth projections for 2045.
Information will be available online at dot.ga.gov/BS/Projects/SpecialProjects/SR20Improvements for 10 days following the open house at the GDOT District 1 office at 2505 Athens Highway SE in Gainesville.
Residents can provide comments online at dot.ga.gov/PS/Public/PublicOutreach.
Written comments in response to the project open house will also be accepted until Dec. 30 and should be submitted to:
Eric Duff, State Environmental Administrator
Georgia Department of Transportation
Office of Environmental Services
16th Floor, One Georgia Center
600 West Peachtree Street, NW
Atlanta, GA 30308