Officials Ponder McGinnis Ferry Completion

Officials say they hope the McGinnis Ferry Road widening project will be completed by the end of July as planned, but it could go into August, coinciding with the PGA Championship, slated for Aug. 8-14 at the Atlanta Athletic Club.

 “We have no control over the project and all we can do is complain,” Rosemary Taylor, communications manager for the city, said. “But it will not have a direct impact on the flow of traffic to the PGA championship,” she added.

The Georgia DOT widening project has dragged on for three years, with businesses and residents frustrated with seeing those orange barrels, barricades and road graders on a daily basis. C. W. Mathews Contracting Co., the company contracted by GDOT for the project, said it anticipates all work will be completed by July 31. 

DOT spokesman Mark McKinnon expressed frustration at the pace of the road widening project, saying it has not gone as GDOT had hoped. GDOT said it hopes the project will be completed by July 31, but that it could go into August. In the event that is the case, roadwork will be suspended during the PGA championship.

The road widening project, which cost about $40.7 million, runs along the northern border of Johns Creek from the Chattahoochee River west to Sargent Road.

It is a major commuter route for thousands from Fulton, Gwinnett, Cobb and Forsyth counties. The original completion date was July 2010, a year ago, after utility work commenced July 2007. The deadline was extended when C.W. Matthews said the extent of the utility relocation was so enormous that the crews needed more time. GDOT granted the company a nine-month extension to April 30, 2011, but when that deadline passed, C.W. Matthews was slapped with a $1,000 per day fine until the work is completed. The contractor also blamed the inclement weather during the winter as reasons for additional delays.

Taylor said as McGinnis Ferry Road has grown wider, the flow of traffic has thinned somewhat, possibly because commuters either do not want to negotiate those pesky turn-offs into parking lots to local businesses or they avoid the area altogether.

That’s unfortunate because it has impacted these businesses along the corridor tremendously, some adversely. Crews have been paving during the evening hours and they have extended into the daytime. GDOT said it hopes to have lanes set in their final configuration by July 31. Final paving of the entire corridor is expected to conclude at the end of July, with sidewalk installation and grass planting to continue past July.

The main impact of PGA traffic will be coming from shuttle buses, which will take passengers from the Gwinnett Arena to the Atlanta Athletic Club, Taylor said. The city has been working with Gwinnett county and GDOT to prepare for the golf tournament. Taylor said the peak times will be 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. since the gates at the club open from 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

The city of Johns Creek was not yet incorporated the last time the Atlanta Athletic Club hosted the PGA Championship, and planning was handled by Fulton County. The city wants to make this a memorable event for all the attendees as the tournament will put Johns Creek on the world stage with broadcast to more than 190 countries and reaching 650 million households.