Atlanta

[Tom958]

The Jimmy Carter DDI changeover was aborted due to weather last weekend, but it's in progress now. Interestingly, the ramps to and from I-85 are open,  but only for right turn movements. I suspect that it's less for the sake of traffic flow than it is for avoiding having to deal with issues arising from closing off the lane drop offramps to Jimmy Carter.

Also on my way to work this morning, two southbound right lanes of 285 were closed for installation of a new overhead  VMS, causing an annoying backup.  I think they should try installing them with a helicopter and keep all lanes open. Wouldn't that be a hoot? 😨😨

https://www.gwinnettcounty.com/portal/gwinnett/Departments/Transportation/DivergingDiamondInterchanges

The Gwinnett County Department of Transportation will close the I-85 at Jimmy Carter Boulevard bridge for the Diverging Diamond Interchange (DDI) crossover. The closure will begin at 9:00pm on Friday, March 20, weather and conditioins permitting. The bridge will open to traffic by 5:00am on Monday, March 23 with the new DDI configuration.

During the weekend construction, drivers should take Jimmy Carter Boulevard to Brook Hollow Parkway to Indian Trail Road to Singleton Road to Jimmy Carter Boulevard and the reverse as their detour.

[Tom958]

As of about an hour ago, the Jimmy Carter DDI is open. 

EDIT: Image from the Gwinnett DDI Facebook page. As you can see, there's still a lot of work to do.

[OracleUsr]

Looks like the DDI at US 21 off I-77 in Cornelius when it first went up.

[Tom958]

Oh, here's a good idea: divert an additional lane of I-285 onto Chamblee-Tucker Road:



Streetview of previous condition
And, yes, I win the Dirty Windshield Award for this month.

[Tom958]

For a while, work has been underway on renovation of the shoulder of I-85 northbound between Jimmy Carter Blvd and Indian Trail. This week, mast arms were erected, cantilevering out over the shoulder. I guess that means that the shoulder will be operated as a dynamic lane, open for traffic only during the afternoon peak.

That segment of I-85 is the only one between Chamblee-Tucker and GA 316 not to have an auxiliary lane from the onramp to the next offramp, and for decades it's been the site of the first and last traffic jam of 85's PM rush hour. Its southbound counterpart was added, when?-- in the '90's?-- after the widening from six to ten lanes was completed in '89 or so, to handle heavy inflows from Indian Trail and Beaver Ruin.

[afone]

The contract for widening GA 400 in Forsyth has been awarded....

The design-build project will add one lane in each direction to Georgia 400 from McFarland Parkway north at least as far as Bald Ridge Marina and possibly up to the intersection of 400 and Georgia Route 369, a total of nearly 14 miles.
The work is being funded through a bond referendum Forsyth County voters approved last fall.

http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/blog/capitol_vision/2015/05/georgia-dot-awards-contract-for-georgia-400.html

[Tom958]

The contract for widening GA 400 in Forsyth has been awarded....

The design-build project will add one lane in each direction to Georgia 400 from McFarland Parkway north at least as far as Bald Ridge Marina and possibly up to the intersection of 400 and Georgia Route 369, a total of nearly 14 miles.
The work is being funded through a bond referendum Forsyth County voters approved last fall.

http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/blog/capitol_vision/2015/05/georgia-dot-awards-contract-for-georgia-400.html

Interesting. I wonder if Forsyth County is paying for it outright or just fronting the money. I'd think the latter, but during my days as an activist in Gwinnett, I was told that GDOT tended not to keep their word on advance funding arrangements.

Also, I've never seen a road contract let for "... at least as far as... and possibly up to..."  The difference looks like about three miles, which is big to do as a change order.

In unrelated news, APL signage is going up on the eastbound approach to Spaghetti Junction.

[Tomahawkin]

It was noted during the week that they are going to expand the MARTA Rail Line to Windward Pkwy??? Im curious in how the lane expansion and MARTA Construction will affect traffic. That area is Hell during rush hours without the construction

[lordsutch]

It was noted during the week that they are going to expand the MARTA Rail Line to Windward Pkwy??? Im curious in how the lane expansion and MARTA Construction will affect traffic. That area is Hell during rush hours without the construction

Any MARTA extension along GA 400 is years off; there's no funding in place for it. See https://www.facebook.com/Connect400 or http://www.itsmarta.com/north-line-400-corr.aspx for more details.

Besides which, any extension would end south of where GA 400 is being widened, although GDOT does eventually want to add some sort of managed lanes to 400 (probably similar to the I-75/575 NW managed lanes project) too.

[Henry]

Soul singer Gladys Knight now has a road in Atlanta named after her:
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/forget-that-midnight-train-georgia-now-has-a-glady/nmBXH/

[DeaconG]

Soul singer Gladys Knight now has a road in Atlanta named after her:
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/forget-that-midnight-train-georgia-now-has-a-glady/nmBXH/

Excellent!

[Tom958]

Soul singer Gladys Knight now has a road in Atlanta named after her:
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/forget-that-midnight-train-georgia-now-has-a-glady/nmBXH/

Excellent!

Except that "A portion of the city's State Route 9 from Peachtree Street to 14th Street" would mean West Peachtree northbound and Spring Street southbound. WTF?

In other incredibly selfish and irrelevant news, I was wondering how the plane crash on 285 directly on the way from my workplace to my house would affect my commute. As it happened, the timing was perfect for me. I got on 285 after the road was reopened but before the news got around, and I blew through the crash site at 65mph. Normally, that spot would've been totally congested by that time.

[xcellntbuy]

I do not know if it was a normal get out, south-of-Atlanta mass exodus this Friday afternoon, but the traffic was solid for miles and miles on Interstate 75 as far as the midpoint between Atlanta and Macon.  I have not seen so much traffic since I fled south Florida.  Loved those empty clay hills and the Oconee National Forest from GA 16 east after leaving the highway and back to the solace of the quaint antebellum capital of Milledgeville.

[golden eagle]

Having once lived in the metro, Fridays seemed to be the worst day for traffic.

[ATLRedSoxFan]

Did GDOT ever reroute US 19 onto Piedmont RD as planned or is that shelved or on hold?

[Tom958]

Did GDOT ever reroute US 19 onto Piedmont RD as planned or is that shelved or on hold?

I drove Peachtree crossing Piedmont yesterday, and saw only GA 237 signs as usual.

Thursday I drove from ATL to Chattanooga and back, took a few photos which I might upload once I get my imgur account issues resolved. Some observations:

The Union Grove Road interchange is approaching completion. The shrouding had come off of one of the new BGS'--I wondered idly if they'd bother putting it back on.

The GA 156 interchange is under major reconstruction, with the I-75 bridges over 156 being replaced and the ramps being lengthened. the latter is especially welcome to me because... while Georgia is generally consistent about applying whatever design standards prevail at the time of construction, I-75 in north Georgia seems inconsistent to the point of outright inadequacy when it comes to length and configuration of on- and offramps.

At the US 41/76 interchange on the north side of Dalton, it appears that a ramp is being added in the northwest quadrant. I can't tell whether it'll replace or merely supplement the existing loop, though as close to the interchange bridge as it is, I'd guess the latter. Next time I'm up that way I'll get off and have a look around. Or I could see if I can find the project concept report online... 

Finally for now, the Northwest Corridor Project flyover looks impressive at the Canton Road Connector and Barrett Parkway interchanges, but there's disturbingly little activity anywhere else.

[Tom958]

Double post. Your concerns are duly noted.

I-75 southbound within the Canton Road Connector interchange:



I-75 northbound approaching Barrett Parkway. This is the flyover that deposits the new reversible lane into the median:



And, finally, I've been meaning for years to get a photo of this. I'm resisting the urge to make vulgar comments:

[DeaconG]

^^^Oh, go ahead, you know you want to...

[rickmastfan67]

^^^Oh, go ahead, you know you want to...

Don't.  We do have people under 16 here on the forums.  If you must, say it in your head, just not here on the forums.

[afguy]

The Feds have given the green light to the GA 400/285 interchange makeover...

The Federal Highway Administration has given the green light to the planned $1.1 billion makeover of the Interstate 285/Georgia 400 interchange.
The agency notified the Georgia Department of Transportation last week it has approved environmental-impact studies on the project, clearing the way for the DOT to hire contractors and begin construction.


"This is an amazing win for our team to be able to obtain approved environmental documents in such a short time frame,"  Georgia Commissioner of Transportation Russell McMurry said. "I am confident that we will continue that positive trend as we move forward with the project."

http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/blog/capitol_vision/2015/05/georgia-400-interstate-285-overhaul-ok-with-feds.html

[golden eagle]

Clogged drains flood, shut down Downtown Connector:

http://m.ajc.com/news/news/local/downtown-connector-closed-due-to-flooding/nmRtQ/

[jwolfer]

^^^Oh, go ahead, you know you want to...

Don't.  We do have people under 16 here on the forums.  If you must, say it in your head, just not here on the forums.

The under 16 crowd could probably teach us a thing or two

[xcellntbuy]

Clogged drains flood, shut down Downtown Connector:

http://m.ajc.com/news/news/local/downtown-connector-closed-due-to-flooding/nmRtQ/

And, just 100 miles southeast in the antebellum capital it was as dry as a bone almost all weekend, for the last few weeks, in fact.  Atlanta metro really has gotten socked with heavy rain this spring.

[Henry]

Pretty soon, there'll be even more DDI's around Atlanta:
http://commuting.blog.ajc.com/2015/06/08/more-diverging-diamond-interchanges-planned-for-metro-area/

[iBallasticwolf2]

Pretty soon, there'll be even more DDI's around Atlanta:
http://commuting.blog.ajc.com/2015/06/08/more-diverging-diamond-interchanges-planned-for-metro-area/

Hopefully this will solve congestion slightly.