A Year in Review

As we are moving into the near year, I would like to take the opportunity to reflect on what we have accomplished in 2018 and thank our partners for their support in achieving these milestones.

Coming off the heels of our 2016 Encore Parkway Bridge opening, 2017 had a lot to live up to. The CID has several projects in the pipeline that made significant progress in 2018 and will see even more in 2019. We were humbled by the recognitions the CID, our staff and board members received in 2018 and saddened by the loss of our board member Keith Steinbrecher. Additionally, board member Tad Leithead was appointed Executive Director of the Cumberland CID and subsequently resigned from the North Fulton CID’s board. The two seats (Post 5 and 6) were filled in October as Chris Bearden and Greg Chapin joined the board of directors.

In April, the region saw significant progress towards a more integrated approach to transportation with the success of House Bill 930, which I co-sponsored in my role as state senator. The bill created the Atlanta-region Transit Link Authority (The ATL), a unifying board that ensures coordinated planning and funding of transit across the 13-County Metro Atlanta region. Since then, all 16 board members have been appointed, and The ATL has begun work on creating a stronger Metro Atlanta transportation system.

For 2019, we are looking forward to moving several crucial CID projects forward. Windward Parkway Phase II has made significant strides in 2018 and is now slated to start construction this spring. The project has been a joint effort between the CID, the Georgia Department of Transportation, City of Alpharetta, State Road & Tollway Authority, and Fulton County, and has been one of the key improvement projects outlined in the Blueprint North Fulton and Blueprint North Fulton 2.0. In November, Alpharetta City Council took major steps towards moving this project forward and awarded the construction contract to Vertical Earth. The council also approved memorandums of understanding with the CID and Fulton County. The project will reduce congestion at the high-traffic Georgia 400 interchange at Windward Parkway by adding a triple-left-turn exit lane that will extend along westbound Windward Parkway to Deerfield Parkway and Westside Parkway. The project is slated for an 18-month construction schedule.

Old Ellis Extension is the CID’s project with the City of Roswell that is currently in the design phase. Building upon the completion of Sun Valley Phase 1, the project is an extension of Old Ellis Road from its current western terminus to connect with the recently constructed Sun Valley Drive. The project will include widening the existing Old Ellis Road from Old Roswell Road to its current dead end, incorporating a center turn lane and 4-foot bike lanes on either side. The new Old Ellis Extension connection will improve east-west access through the area between Alpharetta Highway/Highway 9 and the Old Roswell Road and Westside Parkway area near Georgia 400. The city and CID held an initial public meeting in October 2018 to present the proposed improvements to the community and gather detailed feedback. In 2019, the CID and city will complete the design for the project and move into the right-of-way process.

Also in the design phase is the CID’s Davis Drive Extension project in partnership with the City of Alpharetta. In June 2018, we announced that the CID had received a $2 million grant for the Davis Drive Extension project from the State Road & Tollway Authority (SRTA) through the Georgia Transportation Infrastructure Bank (GTIB). The project will include improvements to the existing roadway and extend Davis Drive to the intersection of Westside Parkway and Sanctuary Park, adjacent to Top Golf. It will modify the existing four-lane configuration to a two-lane configuration with a center turn lane and bike lanes in each direction. The project aims to improve connectivity to Mansell Road and SR 400 and improve safety by preventing parking lot cut-throughs. In 2019, we’ll work closely with property owners to finalize the design and begin the right-of-way process.

2019 will also see several newer projects emerge, and we’ll hopefully be able to share more news on these soon. Thank you to all of our partners for a successful 2018 and a great start to 2019.