(Lawrenceville, Ga., Dec. 21, 2017) – The Gwinnett Board of Commissioners on Tuesday awarded a design contract to begin the engineering of an interchange on Interstate 85 at McGinnis Ferry Road.

The Federal Highway Administration and the Georgia Department of Transportation approved the project earlier this year. The County is responsible for the engineering and right of way and the Georgia Department of Transportation will manage construction.

District 1 Commissioner Jace Brooks said, “This is the first step in a project that will provide relief for the heavily congested Lawrenceville Suwanee Road interchange.”

This phase of the project consists of the design and development of construction documents for the new full-diamond interchange, which will provide full access to and from I-85. The project is expected to take several years to complete.

Atkins North America, Inc. was the highest-scoring firm on the request for proposals. Their contract amount is not to exceed $3,177,604.68.

This project is funded by the 2014 SPLOST program and expected contributions of state and federal funding. For additional information on Gwinnett County Transportation projects, please visit www.gwinnettcounty.com.