(Lawrenceville, Ga., Feb. 2, 2010) - Gwinnett officials today held a ribbon cutting to open section one of the first phase of Sugarloaf Parkway extension to traffic. The roadway extends Sugarloaf Parkway from State Route 20 south of Lawrenceville to a new interchange at New Hope Road. The project also includes over 1.5 miles of upgrades to existing roadways surrounding the extension.

The $23.5-million project features a four-lane divided, limited-access roadway with 55,000 tons of asphalt and 98,000 tons of rock base placed, and 11,000 feet of storm drain pipe and 14,000 feet of guardrail installed. The intersection at State Route 20 includes dual left turns and right turn lanes at all approaches.

"It's been over a decade since we've opened a major roadway in the county and we're excited to have this project completed one week ahead of schedule," said Commission Chairman Charles Bannister. "We are grateful for the funding that came mainly from county SPLOST dollars in addition to the $2.5 million from Georgia DOT to build this phase of the extension."

E.R. Snell Contractor, Inc. was the general contractor and Precision Planning, Inc. was the engineering firm for the project. Moreland Altobelli Associates, Inc. managed the project.

"Our long-range plan for this extension is to loop Sugarloaf Parkway back to Peachtree Industrial Boulevard in the Buford/Sugar Hill area," said Brian Allen, county transportation director.

Construction work is underway from New Hope to Martin's Chapel Road and Martin's Chapel to Campbell Road. Later this year construction will begin to extend the parkway to State Route 316/University Parkway.