AASHTO Journal, 11 October 2013
The Georgia Department of Transportation announced Wednesday that drivers are now experiencing a 195 percent reduction in travel time with the new collector-distributor (CD) lanes along I-20 in Dekalb County.
The $31 million CD project, which stretches from the I-20/I-285 interchange east to Panola Road, constructed barrier-separated CD lanes along the interstate in an effort create smoother traffic flow while eliminating the “weaving movements” of traffic entering and exiting I-20 in certain areas. GDOT used the design-build process, saving money and time for the department, taxpayers, and roadway users. According to GDOT Chief Engineer Russell McMurry, the new CD lanes have reduced rush hour travel times from Columbia Drive to east of Panola Road from 18.3 minutes to 6.2 minutes, a 195 percent reduction. Other starting points and final destinations on the route also experienced large reductions in travel time.
State officials are thrilled with the results of the CD lanes.
“We hoped we might see improvement in excess of 56 percent but 195 percent is off the charts,” said State Transportation Board Member Robert Brown in a statement. “I drive the corridor myself almost daily and I see the improvement firsthand. I’m extremely pleased that the department and Dekalb County worked together and were innovative in incorporating a design-build approach. They have expeditiously brought a much higher level of mobility to a very congested corridor.”
CD lanes, GDOT says, are just one of many innovations the department is using to increase mobility in the state by “making the most advantageous and beneficial use of limited financial resources.”