Transportation/Transit | Gwinnett Place Community Improvement District

Listed below are active projects the Gwinnett Place CID is working on.

Club Drive at Pleasant Hill Road Intersection Improvement Project

The Club Drive intersection improvement project was completed in summer 2018. The project installed northbound triple left lanes on Pleasant Hill Road and eastbound dual right lanes at Club Drive. These added lanes are helping alleviate traffic delays and facilitate better movement through the intersection.

Venture Drive Widening Project

Plans are underway to widen Venture Drive to four lanes from Steve Reynolds Boulevard to Day Drive. This project ties into the recently completed improvement project on Venture Drive at Gwinnett Place Drive intersection. The improvement concepts include pedestrian enhancements and the increased capacity for movement between Pleasant Hill Road and Steve Reynolds Boulevard.

Venture Drive at Day Drive Intersection Improvement Project

The Gwinnett Place CID is working in partnership with the Gwinnett County Department of Transportation to construct a roundabout on Venture Drive at Day Drive in order to improve traffic flow and reduce conflict points in the congested area. This project is on track to advertise for construction bids by mid-February 2019. Construction is tentatively scheduled to begin April/May 2019. Click to read the project’s concept design.

Venture Drive at Steve Reynolds Boulevard Intersection Improvement Project

Venture Drive will be widened at the corner of Steve Reynolds Boulevard in order to construct a designated northbound right turn lane onto Steve Reynolds Boulevard. This second northbound through lane on Venture Drive will continue across Steve Reynolds Boulevard and convert another existing right turn lane into a continuing through lane crossing the intersection and terminating at the retail shopping center North of the intersection.This project is on track to advertise for construction bids by mid-February 2019. Construction is tentatively scheduled to begin April/May 2019.

Area-wide Traffic Responsive System

The Gwinnett Place area traffic system consists of 49 signalized intersections with primary corridors including Pleasant Hill Road, Satellite Boulevard, Steve Reynolds Boulevard, and Club Drive. The Gwinnett Place system also includes two interchanges with I-85, a half diamond at Steve Reynolds Boulevard and a diverging diamond interchange (DDI) at Pleasant Hill Road. Pleasant Hill Road includes 23 intersections and is bound by an interchange on either end of the corridor, SR 13/Buford Highway to the north and Ronald Reagan Parkway to the south. Pleasant Hill Road maintains heavy volumes throughout day with additional commuter travel during the peaks. Satellite Boulevard includes 14 intersections and is parallel to I-85. It is a popular alternate route to I-85 with heavy peaks during the AM and PM. Steve Reynolds Boulevard, combined with Club Drive, are a popular alternative route to Pleasant Hill Road as it circumvents some of the congestion surrounding Gwinnett Place Mall. This route consists of 10 intersections.

Traffic Responsive Signal control systems (TR) are useful in areas with heavy traffic volumes and unpredictable traffic patterns. The system reacts to changes in traffic demand and then implements timing plans most suited for the traffic conditions. It works well along popular alternative or bypass routes that are impacted by weather, incidents, seasonal variations, or planned special events. The Gwinnett Place system is an ideal location for a TR system because of the heavy and often variable volumes along Pleasant Hill Road, alternate route options for I-85 and Pleasant Hill Road, and volume variation on weekends due to traffic generated by area retail. The goal for the Gwinnett Place TR system is to run the most suitable traffic control patterns based on traffic volumes.

Working in partnership with the CID, the Gwinnett County and Georgia Departments of Transportation completed a retiming for the Gwinnett Place system in September 2017 with the TR system becoming operational in November 2018. Because of the dynamic traffic volumes surrounding Gwinnett Place, the system operates better with TR than with traditional static time of day operations. The system now reacts to changes in traffic demand and automatically implements traffic patterns appropriate for the traffic conditions. The Final Timing Report for the Gwinnett Place Traffic System 2019 documents the improvements in travel times and average speeds in the area as a result of TR operations.

Connectivity between McDaniel Farm and Shorty Howell Park

In order to achieve greater walkability in the district, Gwinnett Place CID envisions a strategy for connecting residential, commercial and recreational destinations in the greater Gwinnett Place area. The Gwinnett Place CID has proposed a network of trails to increase walkability and improve the pedestrian experience in the immediate Gwinnett Place area and also complete a section of the Gwinnett County’s Greenway system. By creating safer, more scenic and direct pedestrian routes, along with providing added transportation options to reduce vehicular traffic, these trails can help spark redevelopment in Gwinnett Place. Current schedule calls for developing the engineering plans for phase one along Commerce Avenue in 2019, right of way acquisition in 2020, and construction in 2021. Phase two, McDaniel Farm Park to Shorty Howell Park connectivity, is scheduled for design and acquisition in 2021 and construction in 2022.

The project goals for connecting McDaniel Farm and Shorty Howell Park are to:

Increase walkability between key residential, commercial and recreational destinations, to spur redevelopment in the Gwinnett Place area
Connect Gwinnett Place to the larger network of Gwinnett County greenways and open space, to provide alternative transportation options to destinations throughout the county
Create a safe and enjoyable experience along the entirety of the trail system, and to encourage walking and biking as transportation alternatives

View plans and studies

Gwinnett Place Drive/Mall Boulevard Complete Street Projects

GPCID Beautification As outlined in the ACTivate Gwinnett Place plan, the CID is preparing construction plans to transform Mall Boulevard and Gwinnett Place Drive into complete streets. The designs call for reducing vehicular traffic lanes to transition space within the existing right-of-way to provide sidewalks, green space and multi-modal travel options; thereby, converting the two roadways from a car-only corridor to complete streets, with limited impact to the level of service of the roadway’s traffic capacity. Beginning first with Mall Boulevard, the complete street will become a three lane roadway section; two travels lanes with a center turn lane. A 6′ wide sidewalk will be added to the south side of the roadway with landscape strip buffer between the roadway and sidewalk. A 38′ wide corridor is then created on the north side which will provide for linear green space serving as a sidewalk, a multi-use corridor for cyclists; all in a park-like setting, infusing the area with opportunities to move between parcels safely on foot, on bike and by car. Gwinnett County DOT is currently reviewing the CID-proposed construction plans for the Mall Boulevard project. A CID-funded consultant is preparing the draft plans for the Gwinnett Place Drive and Mall Boulevard projects.

Mall Boulevard Corridor:
• The Preliminary Field Plan Review has been held.
• Right of way plans were prepared and submitted to Gwinnett County. The is addressing the right of way comments along with preparation of plans for the Final Field Plan Review.
• The CID anticipates completion of plans for the Final Field Plan Review in January 2019, allowing the review meeting to be held in February 2019.

Gwinnett Place Drive Corridor:
• The Preliminary Field Plan Review has been held.
• Right of way plans were prepared and submitted to Gwinnett County DOT for comment.

Mall Boulevard and Gwinnett Place Drive complete street plans

I-85 at Pleasant Hill Road NB Ramp Improvement Project

In partnership with the CID and as a result of CID traffic studies, Gwinnett County DOT is directing a project to extend the two lanes at the northbound on-ramp at I-85 and Pleasant Hill Road. The merge point on the on-ramp will be pushed further downstream, using existing shoulder space. This initiative will give vehicles more space to merge and reduce the frequency of back-ups extending into the intersection. Consultant HNTB has prepared recently a concept to show this proposed extension of the two lanes at the ramp . The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) has selected a contractor and construction should begin Spring 2019. For this project, no lane closures, flagging operations, or any other activity that affects traffic will be allowed Monday through Friday between the hours of 6:00 am to 6:00 pm. Closing more than one lane will not be allowed at any time.

Transit Improvements Along the I-85 Corridor

GPCID Transportation The I-85 corridor remains one of the most congested corridors in the Atlanta region. New mobility options are needed to improve connectivity between major activity centers in Gwinnett and provide a high capacity transportation alternative to automobile travel. In order to improve the quality of life and the economic livelihood of Gwinnett’s central business district, a series of transit studies have been led by the CID to address these needs. The first I-85 Corridor Light Rail Transit Feasibility Study was initiated in September 2008 to evaluate the technical and financial viability of a light rail transit (LRT) line in Gwinnett County. Over the years, the CID has studied the potential benefits of serving the I-85 corridor with transit: