As we all know, the northern portion of Interstate-285 is one of the most heavily-traveled and congested highways in the country. Georgia Department of Transportation staff seeks to improve traffic flow and safety with the Major Mobility Investment Program.
You are invited to GDOT public information open house meetings Jan. 23-30 to discuss the I-285 Top End Express LanesandI-285 Advanced Improvement Projects. The open houses in Cobb will be held noon-2 p.m. and 4:30-7:30 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 30, at the Gallery at Cobb Galleria. These are important projects in our area and residents should attend to provide their input.
The open houses will discuss proposed improvements for the northern I-285 corridor including: the I-285 Top End Express Lanes and three of the six I-285 Advanced Improvement Projects: I-285 Westbound Auxiliary Lane Extension, the I-285 Westbound Collector-Distributor Lanes and the I-285/Peachtree Industrial Boulevard Interchange Improvements.
Meeting information:
Thursday, Jan. 23 Noon – 2 p.m. 4:30 – 7:30 p.m. City Springs, 1 Galambos Way, Sandy Springs
Tuesday, Jan. 28 Noon – 2 p.m. 4:30 – 7:30 p.m. St. Luke’s Presbyterian Church, 1978 Mt. Vernon Road, Dunwoody
Thursday, Jan. 30 Noon – 2 p.m. 4:30 – 7:30 p.m. The Gallery at Cobb Galleria, 1 Galleria Parkway Southeast, Atlanta
Georgia DOT also released today the following visualization of what the project may look like when it’s complete:
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I-75 at Delk Road Friday morning. (Georgia 511 photo)
UPDATE, 2:32 P.M.: Inclement weather has prompted Georgia DOT to cancel the resurfacing work this weekend. The forecast calls for rain all day Saturday with the sun to return on Sunday.
ORIGINAL REPORT:
From the Georgia Department of Transportation:
Contractors for the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) will implement daytime and nighttime lane and ramp closures in the Marietta area on I-75 in Cobb County this weekend to continue resurfacing activities.
Weather permitting, these are the scheduled closures:
Three left lanes will be closed on I-75 northbound from 9 p.m. on Friday, April 19 until 5:30 a.m. on Monday, April 22 from the Windy Hill Road exit to the Delk Road exit;
One center lane will be closed on I-75 northbound from 9 p.m. on Friday, April 19 until 5:30 a.m. on Monday, April 22 from the Terrell Mill exit to the Delk Road exit.
The right shoulder lane on I-75 at the South Marietta Parkway exit will be closed from 1 a.m. on Sunday, April 21 until 5:30 a.m. on Monday, April 22; and
The on-ramp to I-75 southbound from South Marietta Parkway will be closed from 1 a.m. on Sunday, April 21 until 5:30 a.m. on Monday, April 22. Message boards in the area will direct drivers to Delk Road to access I-75 southbound.
Overhead signs and message boards in the Marietta area will alert drivers of the closures in advance and will direct drivers to the next open exit to access I-75.
These major closures reduce prolonged impacts to the traveling public by condensing the crews and equipment needed and ensuring safety for workers and drivers. The project is scheduled for completion in spring 2019.
As always, motorists traveling in the area are reminded to reduce their speeds in the work zone. Motorists are also encouraged to wear seatbelts, eliminate distractions behind the wheel, and plan their routes before getting on the road by calling 511 for real-time information on work status and traffic conditions.
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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.
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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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The Northwest Corridor Express Lanes will connect to I-285 and managed lanes to be built between I-85 and I-20 by 2028. (East Cobb News file photo)
The $834 million Northwest Corridor Express Lanes that are set to open soon (and with an access point on Roswell Road, near the Big Chicken, as seen above), are part of the initial phase of the colossal I-285 Express Lanes project to address congestion on Atlanta’s suburban northside.
The Georgia Department of Transportation has been holding information sessions with local government bodies about its Major Mobility Investment Program, a total of 11 projects that are expected to be completed over the next decade or so.
On Tuesday, Cobb commissioners were briefed at a work session about the I-285 Express Lanes, which would range between I-85 in Gwinnett County and I-20 west of Atlanta.
The toll road projects, dubbed the I-285 Top End Express Lanes (fact sheet) and the I-285 Westside Express Lanes (fact sheet), would be fully complete by 2028, connecting to I-75 and I-575 in Cobb and Cherokee and the Northwest Corridor managed lanes.
The Top End project will cost an estimated $4.2 billion, with expected completion by 2028. That corridor currently handles around 240,000 vehicle trips a day.
The Westside project is expected to cost around $655 million, and is slated to open to traffic by 2026. Unlike the Northwest Corridor, which will have reversible lanes, the Westside project will have an express lane in each direction, inside existing general purpose lanes.
Tim Matthews, the MMIP project manager for Georgia DOT, told commissioners that three Cobb County access points are being proposed for Westside project. Two are at Mt. Wilkinson Parkway and Cumberland Parkway.
Another would be at 285 and Cumberland Boulevard. That access point was chosen over Akers Mill Road, both for cost and traffic demand reasons.
Matthews said the Cumberland Boulevard access point would cost an estimated $15 million, compared to a $110 million price tag for Akers Mill. Planned development in the Akers Mill area also was a hindrance for access point consideration.
The Cumberland Boulevard access point also would serve traffic projected by the year 2040 to be around 25,000 vehicles per day, compared to around 17,000 at Akers Mill.
Although that may not seem like a lot, Matthews said “that’s a significant difference.”
He said the proposed locations are not final, but represent a “baseline access map” that could be altered, since the project will be taken to the public and also because of land acquisition issues that could come up.
No proposed access points for the Top End Express Lanes were presented at the commission work session.
The next steps for Georgia DOT with both projects are to address environmental issues, which are underway and will take around three years, and to have public comment periods in 2019 and 2020. Right-of-way acquisition is expected take place in 2021-22, with construction starting in 2023.
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An interchange at Roswell Road and I-75 will be one of several entry and exit points for East Cobb motorists using the Northwest Corridor lanes. (East Cobb News photo by Wendy Parker)
The Northwest Corridor Project express lanes designed to relieve traffic on I-75 and I-575 in Cobb and Cherokee counties are anticipated to be fully operational by the Labor Day weekend.
But now’s a good time to purchase the required passes for driving along the nearly 30 miles of managed lanes, which are nearly complete after more than five years of planning and construction.
That’s the message from Steven Lively, the Georgia Department of Transportation’s program delivery manager for major projects.
Earlier this week, he provided an update to the East Cobb Civic Association. While the general expected opening of the lanes is still “late summer,” he said “we hope to have traffic in the system by Labor Day.”
Resurfacing I-75 along the Express Lanes route, and on I-285 between the Chattahoochee River and Cobb Parkway is expected to be done by Aug. 31, he said.
The “Peach Pass” is currently being used on other managed lane and toll routes in Georgia, and will soon be expanded to the Northwest Corridor Project.
The pass is an electronic transponder device with an adhesive that sticks to a windshield or front bumper. Motorists purchase the passes in advance of their first time using the lanes, and then refill their accounts with money, depending on how much they use the lanes.
“We encourage people to use the system when it benefits them,” Lively said. “It may not be an everyday option but you get to make a choice.”
Motorists can apply online here to set up an account (for an initial fee of $20), and passes will be mailed. There’s also a mobile app for the Peach Pass.
The costs will be based on what’s called “dynamic pricing,” which rise as demand increases and is reduced during off-peak hours, Lively said.
Fines will apply to motorists who enter the lanes without a Peach Pass, or with one that’s expired, or if an account has insufficient funds, as well as for driving a vehicle that’s unregistered for Peach Pass use (more on fines here).
The finishing touches of the project, including testing of electronic signs and other devices at the interchanges, are underway now, according to Lively, who said the project is around 95 percent complete.
The $834 million project—the biggest in state transportation history—stretches in two lanes along I-75 from Akers Mill Road to Hickory Grove Road in Acworth. Three of the six interchanges will be easily accessible to East Cobb motorists: Akers Mill Road, Terrell Mill Road and Roswell Road.
The Express Lanes also include a spur at the I-75 junction that then goes up I-575 in a single lane to Sixes Road near Canton. Three sets of “slip ramps” include a northbound exit and a southbound entrance at Shallowford Road in Northeast Cobb.
The managed lanes will be for southbound traffic in the morning, and northbound traffic in the afternoon rush hour. Lively said the express lanes will be closed for three hours in between to clear vehicles and reverse the direction of the traffic flow.
Georgia DOT estimates that the Express Lanes can ultimately save motorists up to 43 minutes on their daily commute time, depending on how long their travel is on that route, and that drivers in the general lanes could have their traffic time reduced by as much as 16 minutes.
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Some midweek overnight bridge work on the Windy Hill Road southbound ramp to Interstate 75 is being done on the continuing Northwest Corridor Project tonight and Wednesday night that may affect some East Cobb motorists.
From 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. both nights, it’s a multiple-lane closure: A double-left-lane closure starts at 11 p.m., then shifts to a triple-left-lane closure beginning at midnight until 5 a.m.
This closure extends—again, only in the southbound direction—from north of Windy Hill Road to Windy Ridge Parkway.
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The Georgia Department of Transportation has announced that the I-75 south ramp to South Marietta Parkway will be closed overnight, starting tonight, and for the next two nights, as part of the Northwest Corridor Project.
The closures will begin at 9 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and the ramp will reopen on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 5 a.m.
The map above, provided by Georgia DOT, shows the detour while the ramp is closed. Here are more details from the agency’s release today:
I-75 southbound motorists traveling to South Marietta Parkway will be directed to remain on I-75 and take Exit 261 for Delk Road and turn right. Motorists will then turn right onto Cobb Parkway to resume travel.
ADVISORY:Dates may change due to weather or other factors. Motorists are advised to expect delays, exercise caution, and reduce their speed while traveling through work zones. Before heading out, get real-time information on work status and traffic conditions. Call 511, visit 511ga.org, or download the Georgia 511 app. Please visit the project website at http://www.dot.ga.gov/DS/GEL/NWC to stay informed, or email northwestcorridor@dot.ga.gov to subscribe to weekly traffic alerts.
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