Milton is taking over the Highway 9 project

If you've ever crawled through the lights on Highway 9, you know Milton's main commercial spine is overdue for a rework — traffic there is projected to top 31,000 vehicles a day, well past what the road was built to carry. Here's what's planned, and the unusual way it's being run.

The state has long wanted to widen State Route 9 — the three-mile stretch from Windward Parkway north to the Forsyth County line. But in 2025, in a notable shift, Milton took over the day-to-day management and delivery of the project from the Georgia DOT. Under an agreement the City Council approved last September, GDOT reimburses Milton 100% of the cost — engineering, right-of-way, construction — as long as the work stays within its current footprint. The state keeps final approval; the city drives the design.

What's on the table: a continuous four-lane road (two each way) with a raised median, a lower 35 mph speed limit, rebuilt intersections and signals, and — the part that makes it more than a widening — new sidewalks, bike facilities, and a multi-use trail meant to stitch Highway 9 into the neighborhoods, shops, and schools around it. City staff say the aim is a corridor that "reflects Milton's values," not just a wider state route.

The catch is patience: design and right-of-way work run through 2030, with construction after that. It's a long game — and it's bound up with the broader push to remake Deerfield, the same district now drawing new corporate offices. Got an opinion on the redesign? The city is taking public comment now, with open houses to come as the design firms up.

Source: City of Milton.