An extension of Market Place Boulevard funded by 1-cent sales tax funds was opened to drivers over the weekend.

The well-traveled retail corridor now extends north from Buford Dam Road to Bald Ridge Marina Road just inside the city limits.

Construction on the project began in 2006. It's the latest development in the county's connector road program designed to offer motorists alternate north-south routes near the Ga. 400 corridor.

At Hwy. 20, the road becomes Ronald Reagan Boulevard and stretches into south Forsyth. The county engineering department is currently at work on a section of the road between McFarland and Union Hill.

Engineering Director John Cunard said construction contractors are on a 12-month schedule. "They've got until next September to finish it," Cunard said.

This particular stretch of road is part of an infrastructure improvement sought by developers Taubman Centers, who want to build an upscale mixed-use development on 164 acres along Ga. 400. The project calls for retail and office space, as well as hotels and residential units.