Forsyth County to host hearing on McGinnis Ferry interchange project

Forsyth County put one of its most closely watched road projects before residents at Fowler Park Recreation Center, where an April 11 open house offered a look at the McGinnis Ferry Road interchange plan and the costs, access changes and traffic disruption tied to it.

The proposal calls for a full-diamond interchange on SR 400 at McGinnis Ferry Road, plus new northbound and southbound auxiliary lanes between the Windward Parkway ramps, the new McGinnis Ferry ramps and the McFarland Parkway ramps. The county says the work will replace the existing bridge over SR 400, widen McGinnis Ferry Road, add sidewalks and a multi-use path, expand right-of-way in places and add turn lanes along the corridor.

That corridor is already one of the county’s most important connectors. A 2016 status update said McGinnis Ferry Road crossed SR 400 with no freeway access, and that the road sits on the Forsyth-Fulton county line, with the south half in Fulton County and the north half in Forsyth County. The project length is estimated at 4.98 miles, with 3.28 miles along SR 400 and another 1.7 miles of side-road improvements.

The Georgia Department of Transportation lists the project, identified as 0007526, as under construction. GDOT says the notice to proceed was issued Sept. 7, 2021, construction is 86.34% complete and the current completion date is June 22, 2026. County documents also show the bridge is being designed to span future managed lanes on SR 400 and that the project includes a 10-foot-wide multi-use path called for in Forsyth County’s bicycle and pedestrian plan.

The interchange has been in the pipeline for years. True North 400 said it helped fund a 2007 Interchange Justification Report that found the interchange feasible, contributing $100,000 to the study and another $200,000 toward design. Forsyth County’s 2024 Comprehensive Transportation Plan, adopted Aug. 1, 2024, followed a public process that included six open houses, two pop-up events and two online surveys, underscoring how heavily the county has relied on public input while major transportation projects moved forward.

The project is also tied to the broader SR 400 Express Lanes corridor planned between McGinnis Ferry Road in Fulton County and McFarland Parkway in Forsyth County. A 2026 report described the overhaul as a roughly $50 million effort backed by Forsyth County, Fulton County, GDOT, the City of Johns Creek and Emory Hospital, while saying the broader road phase was expected to finish by March 2028. Forsyth County has already issued traffic-impact notices showing lane closures linked to clearing work, meaning the project is affecting daily travel even before the interchange opens.