Main Street Relocation Project Gets Extra SPLOST Funding

The Gwinnett County board of commissioners approved an agreement Tuesday with the city of Lilburn to provide additional funding for the Main Street relocation project. 

The additional funding amounts to $164,000, which is coming from a reallocation of SPLOST dollars from the Lilburn Community Improvement District. Recently, the county asked all of the community improvement districts to consider such changes to help projects that were "shovel-ready."

In 2011, Gwinnett County provided an initial SPLOST sales tax allocation of approximately $645,000 for construction of the Main Street project. With the additional Lilburn CID reallocation, the total SPLOST contribution is now $809,000.

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The Lilburn CID also obtained a grant from the State Road and Tollway Authority (SRTA) for $800,000 toward the project. The city will cover all costs above these amounts.

"This is a wonderful example of intergovernmental cooperation that will benefit the community in a very real way," said District 2 Commissioner Lynette Howard. "Gwinnett County, the city of Lilburn and the Lilburn Community Improvement District (CID) have worked together to move this great project forward, and I look forward to many other successes like this one.

"I’d like to especially recognize Mayor Johnny Crist and Lilburn CID Executive Director Gerald McDowell for their efforts on this project."

When complete, the project will improve safety by relocating Main Street at U.S. Highway 29, replacing the current skewed intersection with a more perpendicular intersection of the two roads.

The relocated Main Street also will create a better intersection with Church Street that includes turn lanes and traffic circles to allow for better access for Lilburn residents to the proposed Lilburn City Hall and library. The project will tie back into existing Main Street near its intersection with Young Street, and the old Main Street road bed will be removed.

The traffic circles will provide traffic calming for the area, while lowering Church Street will improve visibility for drivers. The city provided engineering, environmental permitting and land acquisition, and the county will construct the job.

Construction is expected to begin this summer and should be completed by mid-2014.

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