Forsyth County's Busiest Road to Receive $50 Million Safety Overhaul

Keithan Suggs has no choice but to drive McGinnis Ferry Road. As the owner of a heating and cooling business, the east-west artery is a professional necessity, not a preference. "I have to go through here," Suggs said. "It's a must to straighten this out."

He is far from alone. McGinnis Ferry Road, the dividing line between Forsyth and Fulton counties, carries roughly 20,000 vehicles daily, a volume that runs 55 percent above the road's designed capacity. Crews are now widening a 2.4-mile stretch from Douglas Road west to Hospital Parkway at Emory Johns Creek Hospital, doubling the corridor from two lanes to four in what amounts to a $50 million rebuild of one of metro Atlanta's most strained commuter roads.

The funding coalition behind the project is almost as striking as the price tag. Forsyth County, Fulton County, the Georgia Department of Transportation, the City of Johns Creek, and Emory Hospital are all contributing. GDOT carries the heaviest share at $20 million, followed by Forsyth County at $14.4 million drawn primarily from Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax and Transportation Bond funds. Johns Creek is committing $8.1 million, and $1.5 million is coming from Fulton County Water and Sewer.

"It's pretty rare," said Forsyth County spokesman Russell Brown. "You don't see this often with this many municipalities and agencies working together this quickly to make a big impact."

The first phase covers the 2.5-mile stretch between Hospital Parkway and Douglas Road. When complete, the road will include a 20-foot raised median separating opposing traffic, a 10-foot multi-use path on the north side for cyclists and pedestrians, and a five-foot sidewalk on the south side. The aging bridge over Caney Creek will be replaced, and new trail connections will link the corridor to the Big Creek Greenway in Alpharetta. The full buildout envisions a 4.6-mile widened corridor running from Union Hill Road in Alpharetta east to Emory Johns Creek Hospital, delivered in two phases.

Officials held a groundbreaking in March 2025. Crews are currently installing utilities, storm drain pipe, and drainage structures along the Phase I corridor, with construction targeted for completion by fall 2026.

Until then, drivers like Beth Davis will keep absorbing the daily grind. "It's just a nightmare," Davis said. "I actually try to avoid it." Once the four-lane road opens, the capacity it adds will be the first structural relief McGinnis Ferry has seen in more than a decade of rapid growth on both sides of the Forsyth-Fulton line.