This summer, the Council for Quality Growth has been working with Kim Conroy, Gwinnett County Director of Transportation, regarding the county’s current paving standard of 8″ GAB, 3″ Binder, and 1.25″ Topping for New Local and Minor Collector streets. The Council, bringing together its members from the development and building communities, worked together to understand the reasoning behind the current standard.
During that process, we compiled a comparison report that examined paving specifications throughout the Metro Region. This report highlighted that the majority of counties in the Region have a 6” GAB, and Douglas County has the highest Binder standard at 3.5”. Furthermore, the Council looked into every road that had been repaired from 2003-2012, and there was uncertainty regarding whether or not these roads were repaired due to normal wear and tear, or for other reasons such as structural issues.
In light of our concerns, the Council and the county worked together and on Tuesday, the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners (BOC) adopted a change in the current paving standard, reducing the Binder from 3” to 2”. This change is certainly a victory for developers and moves Gwinnett into a more competitive position. We would like to thank Mr. Conroy for working with us on this issue.
Gwinnett continues to be a leader in infrastructure in the Metro Region, and the Council is eager to work alongside the Gwinnett DOT on standard review going forward.
To read the Council’s Letter to the Gwinnett BOC, Click Here
To read the Council’s Standards Comparison, Click Here