AASHTO Journal, 10 November 2016
Gov. Nathan Deal, Georgia Department of Transportation Commissioner Russell McMurry and State Transportation Board member Mark Burkhalter broke ground Nov. 3 on a major interchange improvement project in the Sandy Springs suburb north of Atlanta.
GDOT said the $800 million project will revamp the Interstate 285/State Route 400 interchange, using private partners under a design-build-partial financing agreement that will generate about $300 million in cost savings from original estimates.
Deal said it “will address traffic congestion and improve safety for one of the most congested intersections in our highway system.” He said the savings under the private partnership “has already been reinvested into other transportation projects around the state to complement our 10-year, $10 billion plan.”
The project is now in preliminary construction, with a master construction schedule in development. GDOT said limited construction-related activities are under way including geotechnical work, surveying and inspections, with major construction set to begin in February and the entire project to be completed in 2020.
It will improve 4.3 miles of I-285 from west of Roswell Road to east of Ashford Dunwoody Road, the agency said, and 6.2 miles along SR 400 from the Glenridge Connector to Spalding Drive.
Improvements will include new flyover ramps, new lanes and other facilities to aid east-west travel on that part of I-285, and north-south travel along SR 400. It will build a diverging diamond interchange on Abernathy Road at SR 400 and extend a walking/bicycling trail system to inside the perimeter.
“The completed project is expected to save commuters who travel the corridor eight hours per year and reduce daily delays for all users of the interchange by 20,000 hours,” GDOT said.
A GDOT video (below) details how the project will change infrastructure and traffic flow in the area.
“The Transform 285/400 Improvement Project is a great example of a public-private partnership bringing value to the citizens of Georgia by letting private-sector innovation and financing build a better and more cost-effective project,” said McMurry.
“This $800 million investment to improve this interchange will stand as the centerpiece of a larger connected network of highway improvements that will move people – in cars and transit vehicles – over the next decade,” he added.
Here is that GDOT video.