A site near the Hall-Gwinnett county line has been chosen for a new $5.2 million Georgia State Patrol post.
The location was once home to a state Department of Transportation rest area and is at the juncture of I-985 and I-85 in Suwanee. Carroll Daniel Construction Company of Gainesville has been chosen to do the work. The site will also house a HERO unit station. HERO units are those pickups that roam the expressway system in and around Atlanta helping law enforcement offices at the scene of accidents as well as stranded motorists.
The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners approved the contract for the work earlier this week.
Troopers in Gwinnett have been working from leased space on Pleasant Hill Road since 2013.
“We’re proud to help build this new facility and glad the state patrol unit will have a permanent home here in Gwinnett County,” said Commissioner Jace Brooks.
The rest area closed in 2005 and has been used as a storage area since then. The entrance and exit will be on Old Peachtree Road. Gwinnett County officials agreed in 2017 to pay for the facility’s design and construction.
The Georgia DOT will continue to own the property but will lease it to the Georgia Department of Public Safety in exchange for housing the HERO assistance units at the facility.
The new 10,797 square-foot building will house command staff offices, day rooms for troopers and HEROs, classroom space, evidence storage and a dormitory for 16 troopers. Officials anticipate the building will open in spring 2020.
