Roswell drivers are staring down years of construction along Riverside Road, but city leaders say the juice is worth the nearly $9.5 million squeeze. The city has signed off on a major rebuild of roughly two miles of the busy corridor from Riviera Road to Old Alabama Road, a project that will bring Roswell its first buffered bike lanes, new sidewalks and crossings, a roundabout, signal upgrades, and a host of drainage and utility fixes. Work is expected to kick off later in 2026 and continue into 2028, with intermittent lane closures and shifting traffic patterns along the way.
Council approval and contract
According to Roswell Connections, the Mayor and Council unanimously approved the construction contract on July 13. The job was awarded to BackBone Infrastructure for just under $9.5 million, funded through TSPLOST II. A concurrent waterline upgrade, priced at about $1.4 million, will be covered under an intergovernmental agreement with Fulton County. The vote formally shifts the project from design and permitting into contractor mobilization and pre-construction work.
What the project will build
City officials say the corridor overhaul will pack in a lot of changes. Plans call for a modern roundabout at River Lake Drive, a new traffic signal at Taimen Drive, a pedestrian hybrid beacon and landscaped median islands near Don White Memorial Park, and a five foot sidewalk on the north side of Riverside Road from Riviera to Dogwood. New multi use trails are set to connect Riverside Park and Don White Memorial Park, giving walkers and cyclists more ways to reach the river without mixing with fast-moving traffic.
Designers will also stripe buffered bike lanes in both directions along Riverside, paired with new landscaping, drainage improvements and utility upgrades. “The Riverside Road Corridor Improvement Project represents years of planning and collaboration,” Mayor Mary Robichaux said, as reported by WSB-TV.
How the project fits regional plans
The makeover is one of Roswell’s TSPLOST corridor investments and is tied to the countywide 2021 TSPLOST program that set aside money for pedestrian and bike upgrades, corridor safety projects and program management. According to Fulton County, Riverside Road is flagged as a corridor improvement priority for the city.
Federal and regional partners have been lining up their own river access and trail projects nearby. The National Park Service issued a Finding of No Significant Impact earlier this year tied to Chattahoochee River access work that overlaps with some of the same planning and permitting pieces. The National Park Service said the FONSI clears the way for coordinated trail work and construction staging in the area.
Trees, trails and tradeoffs
City materials show planners tried to thread the needle between safety upgrades and Riverside’s leafy canopy. Out of 95 specimen trees in the project zone, 23 are slated for removal, while about 72 are expected to stay. The plan calls for planting roughly 49 new trees to help offset what is lost. Roswell Connections reports that engineers studied alternatives to limit tree impacts while still making space for sidewalks, bike lanes and drainage infrastructure.
Officials concede there are tradeoffs built into the design, but argue that the final layout cuts down conflict points and boosts safety for pedestrians and cyclists who currently navigate narrow shoulders and limited crossings.
Timeline and what residents should expect
Officials told WSB-TV that mobilization and pre-construction work are expected to begin later in 2026, with most construction taking place through 2027 and wrap-up targeted for 2028. Drivers can expect lane closures, temporary traffic shifts and active work zones along the corridor, which means extra time and patience will probably be part of the commute.
The city says it will coordinate with the contractor to maintain access to homes, businesses and parks whenever possible. When the cones finally come up, officials say Riverside Road should function as a safer, more connected corridor for drivers, walkers and cyclists, while preserving access to the Chattahoochee River recreation area that keeps the stretch so popular in the first place.
