The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners gave the green light to three new road construction projects in December. Braselton Highway (State Route 124) will get an additional lane in each direction from Hamilton Mill Road east to Pine Road. The County will receive $1.5 million in state funding for the project. "We really appreciate the efforts of State DOT Board member Rudy Bowen and Commissioner Linnenkohl for helping obtain funding for this much-needed project to deal with congestion in the growing Hamilton Mill area," said District 3 Commissioner Mike Beaudreau. G.P.’s Enterprises will begin the work early this year.

Upgrades to the intersection of Cooper and Rosebud Roads south of Grayson will include turn lanes and a new traffic signal, eliminating the current four-way stop. The project will reduce congestion at this increasingly busy intersection and also around two new schools in the area, according to Beaudreau. The $2.9 million contract, which includes turn lanes at Trip Elementary School on Cooper Road and Bay Creek Middle School on Rosebud Road, went to the lowest of 11 bidders, Gary's Grading, Inc. Funding comes from the 2005 SPLOST program.

A third project on Webb Gin House Road will upgrade the intersection with Scenic Highway (State Route 124) and will add a center turn lane and sidewalks from there to Ronald Reagan Parkway. The intersection will get additional turn lanes and a second through lane. G.P.'s Enterprises, the lowest of nine bidders, got the almost $4.5 million contract that is also funded by the 2005 SPLOST program.

New Superior Court Judge takes the bench

Warren P. Davis was recently appointed by Governor Sonny Perdue to serve as the new Superior Court judge in Gwinnett County. Before his Superior Court appointment, Judge Davis served in Magistrate Court for 23 years, 20 of which were as Chief Magistrate. Prior to his judicial career, he served in the Gwinnett County Police Department.

Davis says his greatest accomplishment during his ten-ure in Magistrate Court was coordinating the ideas of the Police, District Attorney, Clerk of Court, and Magistrate Court into the development of the Video Warrant Project, which combines the use of video technology and electronic signatures to hear warrant applications online.

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“This project has changed Georgia law enforcement, as well as law enforcement around the country for jurisdictions that have followed our lead,” Davis said.

In his new position, Judge Davis will focus on a variety of complex civil and criminal cases, ranging from divorce to personal injury lawsuits and real estate to felony crimes. He said that one of the challenges of this position will be to help with the backlog of criminal cases, resulting in a rise in population of inmates held in the county jail.