285 Toll Lanes

[Tomahawkin]

How in the hell will this happen? Can't do elevated toll lanes with so many roads that run adjacent to the interstate. Not to mention there are newly built apartments that surround the interstate

[lordsutch]

I assume like 75/575 northwest that they'll be elevated; the other alternative would be to put them underground, like I-635 in Dallas.

[The Ghostbuster]

If there is any Atlanta roadway that could use toll lanes, it is the 285 beltway. How they would be built is another question.

[cpzilliacus]

I suppose they could do like Transurban and VDOT did with I-495 in Northern Virginia.  However - I think that there was more room available for the project along I-495 (where the lanes were added in Fairfax County) than there is along most of I-285.

[Sykotyk]

Want to fix 285? Build another route around. Through traffic would gladly avoid that fustercluck if there was an available alternative. I-75 about 10-20 miles west of I-285 then cutting southeast towards the McDonough area would alleviate a lot of the western leg traffic. I-85, same thing on the east/south issue and free up some room around the airport considerably.

"Fixing" 285 isn't going to happen. There's too much traffic, and tolls are only going to make it worse, not better. Getting the traffic away from 285 should be the goal. Not amp it up to 'handle' more. Traffic is well above capacity on the western leg from 75 to 75.

[froggie]

Want to fix 285? Build another route around. Through traffic would gladly avoid that fustercluck if there was an available alternative.

Unless you SEVERELY LIMITED interchanges along such a route (likely politically impossible), this wouldn't work.  All it would do in the long term is create another 285 mess further out.

[lordsutch]

I'm not really sure an outer bypass would relieve much traffic; the real issue with top end 285 is that it's the only through route between 75 and 85 north of the split due to topography and NIMBYism, so it carries all of the suburb-to-suburb traffic on the north side. If you wanted to relieve traffic significantly you'd need a much closer parallel route; something like the northern arc would be too far out.

I tend to think the northern arc should be revived for other reasons, mainly because it's less sprawl-inducing than GDOT half-assing it by upgrading GA 20 to a signalized arterial that will attract continuous frontage development from Rome to Gwinnett, but it won't do much for 285.

[cpzilliacus]

An Outer Perimeter might work, with the following caveats:

1. As suggested above by Froggie, a limited number of interchanges;
2. Full access control (absolutely no at-grade signalized intersections);
3. Designed for high speeds (75 MPH or better); and
4. Tolls set to assure that the road is free-flowing at all times (also helps to fund construction), and lower tolls  in overnights (say 12 Midnight to 5 A.M.).

Regarding "fixing" the Perimeter (I-285), it cannot (IMO) be "fixed" in the usual engineering sense by adding capacity,  but it could be managed much better (and there are plenty of places where improvements could be made, including interchange reconstruction and widenings). But that means tolling the entire thing, and using tolls to signal to motorists when capacity on the road is most in demand.

[abefroman329]

Want to fix 285? Build another route around. Through traffic would gladly avoid that fustercluck if there was an available alternative.

Unless you SEVERELY LIMITED interchanges along such a route (likely politically impossible), this wouldn't work.  All it would do in the long term is create another 285 mess further out.

Yeah, the final proposal for the Northern Arc was 85 to 75 with the only interchange at 400, and it still didn't get built.

[Tom958]

There was a multiyear study. It has pictures, too. The webpage is way out of date and the interactive graphics are much less impressive than they once were, but...

http://www.revive285.com/index.html

[The Ghostbuster]

Personally, I believe the Toll Lanes should go the entire length of the beltway. That would likely be costly, and probably take a long time to construct in full, and may even be a pie-in-the-sky fantasy. However, if it would help improve mobility, I would try to make my fantasy a reality.

[mrsman]

An Outer Perimeter might work, with the following caveats:

1. As suggested above by Froggie, a limited number of interchanges;
2. Full access control (absolutely no at-grade signalized intersections);
3. Designed for high speeds (75 MPH or better); and
4. Tolls set to assure that the road is free-flowing at all times (also helps to fund construction), and lower tolls  in overnights (say 12 Midnight to 5 A.M.).

Regarding "fixing" the Perimeter (I-285), it cannot (IMO) be "fixed" in the usual engineering sense by adding capacity,  but it could be managed much better (and there are plenty of places where improvements could be made, including interchange reconstruction and widenings). But that means tolling the entire thing, and using tolls to signal to motorists when capacity on the road is most in demand.

Sounds like an ICC (Washington DC area tollway) for Atlanta.

[cpzilliacus]

Sounds like an ICC (Washington DC area tollway) for Atlanta.

By (sub)urban Maryland standards, interchanges on Md. 200 (ICC) are spaced relatively far apart. 

Contrary to what ICC opponents claim, the amount of traffic on the road has steadily increased.