VIDEO: Metro Atlanta Residents Get New Details On Proposed I-285 Top End Express Lanes Project
Residents in Metro Atlanta are getting new details on the I-285 Top End Express Lanes project, revealing the displacement of 21 residences and 44 businesses, as well as potential noise impacts and increased transit options. The $9.5 billion project aims to reduce travel times and manage congestion through toll lanes, with private investment playing a role in financing. Construction is set to start in the coming years.
Thu July 25, 2024 - Southeast Edition Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Toll lanes along the top end of the Atlanta Perimeter and adjoining highways would displace 21 residences and 44 businesses, an environmental study has found.
The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) also would acquire slivers of numerous other properties to build the toll lanes. And the project would increase noise in the area and have other adverse impacts, according to the study, though the state agency would build noise barriers and take other steps to mitigate the effects.
The toll lanes along Interstate 285 and portions of Ga. Highway 400 and I-85 would be designed to reduce travel times by 39 percent for motorists who paid to use them, and 8 percent for those who drove in the "free" lanes, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution learned.
Additionally, the new lanes would allow MARTA and other transit agencies in metro Atlanta to operate rapid bus lines on one of the busiest, most congested stretches of interstate highway in the country.
Construction of the I-285 Top End Express Lanes project is still years away, but GDOT has disclosed those and other details of the $9.5 billion project as it seeks public input and prepares to finalize the environmental study. The findings drew a mixed response from area residents who attended an open house about the project recently in Dunwoody.
Town resident Robert Wittenstein told the Atlanta newspaper that he wishes state and local officials had pursued a light-rail line along the Perimeter instead of adding more highway lanes. He worries about the impact of more vehicles on a stretch of highway already traveled by more than 240,000 cars and trucks each weekday.
"I care very deeply about this community," he said. "I think this is a missed opportunity."
Jerry Adams, another Dunwoody resident, was resigned to the project, which abuts his neighborhood.
"I guess, personally, I must say it has to be done," he added. "I'll give [GDOT] the benefit of the doubt that they've done their due diligence."
Details of the project come from a draft environmental study prepared by the state transportation department and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).
GDOT plans to build two toll lanes in each direction along 19 mi. of I-285 between South Atlanta Road and Henderson Road. Barriers would separate the express lanes from regular traffic.
The project also would include toll lanes along 3.5 mi. of Ga. 400 from the Glenridge Connector to the North Springs MARTA station, and along 1 mi. of I-85 from the Perimeter to Pleasantdale Road.
The new Perimeter lanes are part of GDOT's larger plan to build a 120-mi. network of metro Atlanta toll lanes. The agency already has opened lanes along 67 mi. of I-85 northeast of Atlanta, I-75 and I-575 to the northwest, and I-75 south of the city.
Next up on GDOT's construction timeline are toll lanes along 16 mi. of Ga. 400 in Fulton and Forsyth counties. The State Transportation Board is expected to approve a contractor for that project in August.
The Journal-Constitution noted that, eventually, GDOT plans to extend the I-285 toll lanes to I-20 east and west of the capital city. But the lanes along the top end of the Atlanta Perimeter would serve as the wheel connecting the spokes for most of the network.
"We always knew the long-term goal was to have a connected system," GDOT spokesperson Natalie Dale told the newspaper.
Private Investment to Help Pay for Highway Construction
As with the existing "express" lanes, tolls on the new Perimeter lanes would fluctuate — the worse the traffic, the higher the toll. The idea is to discourage enough people from using them to keep traffic in the toll lanes moving at an average of at least 45 mph.
Building more "free" lanes would not solve the region's traffic problems, GDOT explained. Instead, the agency believes they would quickly fill up as metro Atlanta's population continues to grow. Toll lanes, on the other hand, allow the department to "manage" traffic congestion — giving residents the option of speeding along if they are willing to pay by the mile.
Unlike the existing express lanes, tolls on the Perimeter and Ga. 400 lanes would be set by a private company. The contractor would keep the revenue in exchange for investing in the project.
Some critics of the plan, though, fear a private company trying to eke out a profit would charge more than the state for using the lanes. The environmental study found the I-285 tolls would likely range from the minimum 10 cents a mile up to $1.50 a mile, with the average toll expected to be $1.25 per mile.
In response, GDOT officials said private investment will allow it to build lanes along a longer stretch of the Perimeter than it could afford to do on its own.
Dale explained that a private company's ability to set tolls would be limited by its contract. She said the public is not required to use the lanes or pay a toll and transit buses would be able to use the lanes for free. Dale also noted the additional lanes will improve travel times in the "free" lanes.
The cost of the I-285 Top End Express Lanes project would come from a mix of state, federal and private funds, the latter of which will be determined through competitive bidding.
"GDOT's model leverages the private sector to help fund and finance this project, optimizing public funding while transferring the risk to the private entity," Dale explained in speaking with the Journal-Constitution.
Widening a highway through the highly developed top end of Atlanta will also require GDOT to buy portions of numerous properties. The agency plans to build elevated lanes in many areas to minimize the amount of right of way it must acquire. But dozens of residents and businesses will still be affected.
Even residents whose property is not needed for the freeway lanes will be affected by years of construction.
GDOT has not yet announced a construction schedule, but it plans to finish the environmental review next year. The new lanes are tentatively expected to open in 2037, the Journal-Constitution reported.
