Construction Moves Forward To Add Lanes On Old Milton Parkway

ALPHARETTA, GA — The City of Alpharetta’s plans for improving traffic flow on Old Milton Parkway took an important step forward last week as the city approved contracts totaling $2.8 million for development of final construction plans and management of the project. The project will add lanes to Old Milton Parkway from North Point Parkway to Kimball Bridge Road.

The City of Alpharetta has funded the planning and design of the project using local funds, including proceeds from the Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax approved by voters in 2016. Because of that investment, the Georgia Department of Transportation has agreed to fund construction of the additional lanes using a combination of state and federal dollars. Old Milton Parkway is part of the State Highway System and is designated as State Route 120.

“Because the Georgia Department of Transportation is involved and federal money is being used, the project has to follow the federal plan development process,” said Alpharetta Public Works Director, Pete Sewczwicz. “That means we have to follow a prescribed process and timeline for completing roadway, bridge, hydro, and urban design; traffic analysis and design; environmental surveys and studies; topographical and property surveys; environmental site assessments; and, geotechnical analysis and design. This adds a good bit of time to the normal schedule to complete the project, but the amount of money that Georgia Department of Transportation is bringing to the table makes it worth the extra steps.”

Because of the federal requirements, it will take approximately three to five years to complete the design and right-of-way acquisition process. This is because each step in the federal process must be completed before the city can begin the next step.

While firm cost estimates will not be available until after construction plans are complete, Sewczwicz said that rough estimates based on the conceptual design for the project anticipate a total project cost of $30 million of which the city is funding $5 million. Any costs exceeding $30 million will be the responsibility of the city to fund.

In addition, the City of Alpharetta will be responsible for negotiating and funding the acquisition of all right-of-way and easements necessary to complete the project. It is estimated that will carry an additional price tag of $1.5 million.

“If not for GDOT’s investment and participation, due to the total cost, we would not be able to take on this project,” Sewczwicz said.