x
Breaking News
More () »

Residents push back against six lanes on Highway 20

Concerned residents in Cherokee County are pushing back against a plan to widen Highway 20 from two lanes to six lanes. GDOT officials say the project will relieve congestion and improve safety.

<p>Concerned resident in Cherokee County are pushing back against a plan to widen Highway 20 from two lanes to six lanes. GDOT officials say the project will relieve congestion and improve safety.</p>

Concerned residents in Cherokee County are pushing back against a plan to widen Highway 20 from two lanes to six lanes.

"That would make it larger than I-575 and wider than Georgia 400 in some parts north," said resident Justine Chapman. "It is absolutely unnecessary in this area."

Georgia Department of Transportation Commissioner Russell R. McMurry will take questions from residents on tonight during a town hall meeting.

It will start at 6 p.m. at the Cherokee County Administration Building, located at 1130 Bluffs Parkway in Canton.

GDOT officials said they have to consider how the road will perform 20, 30, 40 years from now.

"Not only are we beyond capacity, but the road's becoming unsafe," said Natalie Dale, spokeswoman for GDOT.

GDOT posted several videos on its website to help residents visualize the plans.

They include red dots to mark the homes and businesses that would have to be torn down.

"We understand that development is inevitable, but we want it to be development that's consistent with the area," Chapman said. "This is a mostly rural community where neighbors know each other."

Chapman moved to Cherokee County about a year ago and began digging into the plan.

Through an open records request, she found an internal memo from last September that indicates GDOT would consider scaling back the widening project from six-lanes to four-lanes if there's "significant pushback" from the public.

"And so we are the community pushback," Chapman added.

The back-and-forth on this project has been going on for years.

GDOT began drafting different plans and holding public meetings in 2013.

"We've been through many alternatives that the community flat out said 'no' to. We have walked back on those, and we have come up the a compromise," Dale explained. "This is one of the best examples where we listened to community input."

The widening project involves about 24 miles of road from Cumming to Canton.

If the six-lane plan goes forward, work could start by the end of the year.

Before You Leave, Check This Out