FORSYTH COUNTY — The Georgia Department of Transportation has announced that C.W. Matthews Contracting Co. is the apparent successful bidder to handle the widening of Ga. 400 in Forsyth County. The project, which totals about $47.5 million, is slated to begin this fall. It calls for both directions of Ga. 400 to be widened by one lane in the existing inside median from McFarland Parkway to at least Bald Ridge Marina Road but possibly as far north as Hwy. 369 in north Forsyth. The contract is expected to be finalized and awarded by Friday, according to the DOT. The tightened design phase requires the contractor to break ground by Nov. 2. That’s nearly a year to the day that Forsyth County voters approved the $200 million transportation bond referendum that is providing much of the funding for the project. The state is expected to contribute $10 million. In a news release, the department stated the process used a variable scope procurement approach, incentivizing competition to provide the most lane miles of widening for the least cost. The process allowed the five interested parties to bid on 10 additional segments in both directions between Bald Ridge Marina and Browns Bridge roads (Hwy. 369). The final bids include all possible segments, or a stretch of 14 miles. According to the DOT, the contract includes design and construction, permitting, utility coordination and/or utility relocation and any other necessary services. It also includes the widening of four bridges — north and south over the Big Creek Greenway, as well as both directions over Lake Lanier. In a statement, DOT Commissioner Russell McMurry said the agency saw “an opportunity to align the goals of the Forsyth County voters — who clearly expressed their desire to widen Ga. 400 as far northward as possible — with an innovative procurement approach.”“Using a variable scope ‘best value’ design-build methodology and the perfect project context, we refined our approach for the best possible outcome,” he said. “[Hwy.] 369 is the maximum distance that could be selected and the competitive bid represents a great value for Georgia.” Rudy Bowen, the state transportation board member who represents the 7th Congressional District that includes Forsyth, hailed the news.“By their vote, the people of Forsyth made a commitment to invest in transportation in their county,” he said. “This new way of bidding enables us to get the most for the money, and to turn this project around quickly.”