Roswell To Host Big Creek Parkway Open House Thursday

ROSWELL, GA — The City of Roswell will host a Public Information Open House on Thursday, August 8, to provide an update on the Big Creek Parkway project. Members of the public are invited to stop by Council Chambers at City Hall, 38 Hill Street, between 5 and 7 p.m. to learn more about the project. Transportation staff will be on hand to answer questions and provide information about the project’s history and potential future options.

Big Creek Parkway is the largest of Roswell’s TSPLOST (Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) projects, approved by voters in November 2016. The goal of the Big Creek Parkway project is to provide an alternative to the Holcomb Bridge Road (HBR) interchange for travelers going between east and west Roswell.

At the Public Information Open House, staff will provide context for potential changes to the project and show residents the project options that elected officials will be considering at upcoming public meetings.

Why is Roswell Considering Changes to this Project?

In early 2019, Roswell was approached by the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) regarding a potential partnership to redesign and replace the interchange at HBR and Ga. 400 as part of GDOT’s proposed Ga. 400 Express Lane project.

With more than 70,000 vehicles per day and as Roswell’s only access to Ga. 400, this interchange is the city's largest transportation challenge. It is the most heavily traveled east-west interchange north of Interstate 285 and creates significant traffic congestion.

In an effort to take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to improve the HBR/400 interchange, Roswell Mayor and City Council pledged to assist GDOT with the costs of the project and directed Transportation Department staff to look for cost savings on existing TSPLOST projects to financially support the partnership.

Using a value-engineering process to reassess the project, RDOT staff and the project consultant determined that by modifying the alignment of Big Creek Parkway, the project could handle comparable traffic volumes and improve east-west mobility similar to the original design while saving an estimated $17 million that could be put toward the HBR/400 interchange improvement.

In addition, this new alignment could reduce wetland impacts and require fewer residential displacements than the original design.

How Does the Proposed Realignment Compare to the Original Design?

In terms of physical design, the proposed alignment differs from the original in that it:

• Uses the existing Old Holcomb Bridge Road, versus building a new road, to connect from the west side of Ga. 400 to the east side at Old Alabama Road.
• Connects to Holcomb Bridge Road west of Ga. 400, versus connecting to Warsaw Road (but with the potential to still connect to Warsaw in a future phase)
• Excludes Holcomb Woods Pkwy. (but with the potential to include in a future phase)

At the Aug. 8 Public Information Open House, residents can review the proposed realignment and learn more about the context for this new proposal.

What are the Next Steps?

Mayor and City Council have not made any formal decisions about next steps regarding Big Creek Parkway. They will discuss the project and potential options at a Work Session scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 12, at Roswell City Hall.