Cobb express lanes

Northwest Corridor Express Lanes now open; free for 14 days with Peach Pass

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Northwest Corridor Express Lanes open

Late this morning the Georgia Department of Transportation announced that the Northwest Corridor Express Lanes have opened.

As we noted earlier this week, through Monday morning the reversible toll lanes along I-75 and I-575 in Cobb and Cherokee will be open only in the southbound direction.

They’ll be made available for northbound traffic for the first time for the Monday afternoon rush hour. Here are the access points that will be available for East Cobb commuters:

  • I-285 at Akers Mill Road
  • I-75 at Terrell Mill Road
  • I-75 at Roswell Road
  • I-575 at Shallowford Road

Using any part of the 29.2-mile stretch of managed lanes is free until Sept. 22, but you have to have a Peach Pass to use them. Here’s how to sign up (the initial fee is $20) and get more information about the dynamic pricing system.

If you want to purchase a Peach Pass in person, they are being sold at the Georgia Department of Driver Services, 3690 Old Highway 41, in Kennesaw. The hours are Tuesday-Friday from 7:30 a.m to 6:30 p.m. and on Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to noon.

The minimum charge to travel on the Northwest Corridor Express Lanes is 10 cents a mile from 5 a.m. to midnight. Overnight, from midnight to 5 a.m., the cost is a flat 50 cents per trip.

Georgia DOT estimates that more than 220,000 vehicles use I-75 and I-575 in Cobb and Cherokee every day.

 

Northwest Corridor Project Map

 

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Northwest Corridor Lanes opening Saturday along I-75, I-575

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Northwest Corridor Lanes opening
Roswell Road will be one of the access points for East Cobb commuters using the Northwest Corridor Express Lanes, which open Saturday. (ECN file photo)

At long last (and especially for those of you who have been checking here recently), thre is a date for the opening of the Northwest Corridor Lanes along I-75 and I-575:

It’s this coming Saturday, Sept. 8, and the first two weeks are free, but only for motorists who sign up for a Peach Pass (more info here, including a new pricing structure that just went into effect).

Here’s what we posted earlier this summer, when Georgia DOT’s Stephen Lively briefed members of the East Cobb Civic Association about the reversible toll lanes.

From mid-morning Saturday through the Monday morning rush hour, access to the managed lanes will be for southbound traffic only.

Around mid-afternoon Monday, the lanes will be switched to accept northbound traffic for the p.m. rush hour.

The minimum charge is 10 cents a mile for all the managed lanes in the state, including the Northwest Corridor Lanes, from 5 a.m. to midnight.

Overnight, from midnight to 5 a.m., the cost is a flat 50 cents per trip.

The amount of a per-trip fee will be determined according to “dynamic pricing,” which is based on demand. The cost is higher with heavier traffic and drops when traffic decreases.

To get an idea how this works, you can check the real-time toll rates for the existing express lanes on I-85 in Gwinnett and DeKalb and on I-75 in Henry County.

The Northwest Corridor Lanes will have several access points for East Cobb commuters:

  • I-285 at Akers Mill Road
  • I-75 at Terrell Mill Road
  • I-75 at Roswell Road
  • I-575 at Shallowford Road

Georgia DOT projected a late-summer opening, but it was delayed due to repairs to collapsing retaining walls that were detected along I-75 near Windy Hill Road.

Gov. Nathan Deal will take part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony next Thursday at 10 a.m. near SunTrust Park, in Braves Lot 29 at Circle 75 Parkway.

The Northwest Corridor Lanes, which cover nearly 30 miles, is the most expensive construction project in Georgia DOT history, at around $834 million.

It will eventually be eclipsed by the forthcoming I-285 Express Lanes, including a $4.2 billion price tag for a section stretching between I-85 and I-75 north.

 

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Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!