(Lawrenceville, Ga., Feb. 7, 2019) – Gwinnett commissioners on Tuesday approved a $5.22 million contract with Carroll Daniel Construction Co. of Gainesville to build a Georgia State Patrol post and HERO unit station on the site of a former I-85 rest area in Suwanee.

District 1 Commissioner Jace Brooks said troopers have been working from leased space on Pleasant Hill Road since 2013.

“We’re proud to help build this new facility and glad the state patrol unit will have a permanent home here in Gwinnett County,” said Brooks.

The state’s Department of Transportation owns the 12-acre property along I-85, just north of Lawrenceville Suwanee Road. The rest area closed in 2005 and has been used as a storage area since then. The entrance and exit will be on Old Peachtree Road. The County agreed in 2017 to pay for the facility’s design and construction.

The Georgia DOT will continue to own the property but will lease it to the Georgia Department of Public Safety in exchange for housing HERO assistance units at the facility.

The new 10,797 square-foot building will house command staff offices, day rooms for troopers and HEROs, classroom space, evidence storage and a dormitory for 16 troopers. Officials anticipate the building will open in spring 2020.