Atlanta

[Georgia]

Its 2019. For everyone in GA, which other projects other than the 400 toll lanes do you want to see addressed or talk about or speculate about. IMO there are a lot of interchanges with interstates in the Atlanta area that need to be redone! IH 20 and 285 along with F.I.B. In Fulton Co. Needs a massive makeover. Its a cluster#### even on Holliday's... Thoughts???

According to the Major Moves schedule, construction on the west 285 and 20 interchange wont begin until 2023.  They wont even pick the design-build contractor until late 2020 and the westside express lanes from 75 to 20 on the westside will be tied into the project. 

http://www.dot.ga.gov/PartnerSmart/Innovative/DesignBuild/IndustryForum/2018/GEC_I285W_Industry_Forum_Presentation.pdf#search=I-285%20and%20I-20

[Tomahawkin]

Oh wow. Thanks for the 411. Why is it taking so long? The 285-20 interchange in Fulton co. has been a disaster since the early 90s. If its because of a lack of funding? Then more roads need to be tolled in this State starting with IH 95. IMO This state is under a infrastructure crisis. Georgia should be proactive like Florida and Texas when it comes to this issue. I have said that since the Olympics

[Tom958]

So, yesterday morning I was driving to work on I-85 north of Atlanta, and there was a VMS between Jimmy Carter and Spaghetti Junction displaying, IIRC, "Texting while driving is illegal in Georgia." Except on the top lines, there were a few green pixels along with the usual off white. Malfunction? No. It was a green dick and balls, vertical, the same height as the letters.

[architect77]

Its 2019. For everyone in GA, which other projects other than the 400 toll lanes do you want to see addressed or talk about or speculate about. IMO there are a lot of interchanges with interstates in the Atlanta area that need to be redone! IH 20 and 285 along with F.I.B. In Fulton Co. Needs a massive makeover. Its a cluster#### even on Holliday's... Thoughts???

According to the Major Moves schedule, construction on the west 285 and 20 interchange wont begin until 2023.  They wont even pick the design-build contractor until late 2020 and the westside express lanes from 75 to 20 on the westside will be tied into the project. 

http://www.dot.ga.gov/PartnerSmart/Innovative/DesignBuild/IndustryForum/2018/GEC_I285W_Industry_Forum_Presentation.pdf#search=I-285%20and%20I-20

GDOT admitted they do not pick up the litter along I-20 West or East/
The repaving project on I-20 West a couple of years ago didn't include picking up the litter covering the shoulders.

In their attempt to focus on white or affluent parts of the metro, instead of Black or Hispanic areas like Chamblee...

they are so stupid to think that the state's infrastructure is judged as a whole, and everyone motorist ariving from every state Westward all the way to Calif. get their first impression of Atlanta from a tight-feeling I-20 with an insane amount of trash lining both sides. Out-of-staters won't forget that negligent upkeep even while in Buckhead or Country Club of the South. Embarrassing...

[architect77]

Oh wow. Thanks for the 411. Why is it taking so long? The 285-20 interchange in Fulton co. has been a disaster since the early 90s. If its because of a lack of funding? Then more roads need to be tolled in this State starting with IH 95. IMO This state is under a infrastructure crisis. Georgia should be proactive like Florida and Texas when it comes to this issue. I have said that since the Olympics

and like NC, which maintains the 2nd largest highway system (~85,000 miles) in the country after Texas.


Georgia has no precedent to even know how to be proactive and plan ahead. They sat and did nothing as Metro Atlanta almost tripled in population from the late 80s to now.


They aren't out studying the problems, and everyone in Atlanta thinks building new freeways means plowing through existing neighborhoods like Freedom Parkway was supposed to do up to meet I-85.


People in Atlanta also think that the general public will protest any additions to out 1960's original hub- spoke layout like they did with the Northern Arc proposal, which would greatly relieve I-285.


3 million people in the Northern half of the metro have only one East-West freeway, I-285, which they must share with out-of-state truckers at that.


That's not right.


But GDOT is actively working on more now than ever in their history.


They also are raising their standards with some of the best quality work in their history, (i.e. I-75 North Express Lane project has overheads signs structures that are visually level, unlike the sloppy, leaning appearance of so many erected earlier.


You should contact every email address at GDOT you can and share your thought.


I have sent multiple requests over the years and have gotten them to fix lots of stuff.

But they'll never become what the proactive DOTs around the country are now.

Even 20 years from now....


Georgia is a "reactive" not a "proactive" sorta state. Nobody  thinks outside the box, and problems are ignored until they no longer can be.

Be happy that GDOT has better funding now than ever before and u

[Tomahawkin]

IH 20 has been shut down on both sides tonight for over 4 hours. As IH 20 is the only east-west interstate to encross GA, it is further necessitated that another outer perimeter be built 35-50 miles outside of IH 285. (Any closer would conflict with the expanding suburbs). I wish the state would get more proactive about this, especially with the commercial truck traffic out here!

[Buck87]

IH 20 has been shut down on both sides tonight for over 4 hours.

Where was this?

[Tomahawkin]

IH 20 and F.I.B. (Fulton Industrial Boulevard) traffic was backed up for over 7 miles in some cases

[adventurernumber1]

Some friends and I drove and photographed it on Sunday, and I've posted nearly thirty of the best photos at FreewayJim's Facebook page. I supposed I could upload some to Imgur and post them here, but I haven't gotten around to it.

We call it the Tollercoaster. Spread it around! 

The Tollercoaster, Atlanta roadgeeks' name for the Northwest Corridor reversible express lanes, has gone mainstream with this article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Yay, us!

https://www.ajc.com/blog/commuting/tollercoaster-express-lanes-make-impact-metro-atlanta-traffic/dETPJfulaOA5D73xrq6vDP/

I asked the guy who wrote the article how he'd heard it, and he said it was at a GDOT meeting. They love it!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KJBvkC2REL0

Freewayjim just uploaded a new road video yesterday which showcases the new "The Tollercoaster" - and has the phrase in its title and within the video. I also hope this phrase becomes mainstream to the point where even the everyday locals and commuters might call it that.

After watching that video, I can say those new Express Lanes look absolutely beautiful, no doubt about that. I am very excited, being able to see the finished product of all this construction, and it truly looks great. It does look a bit like driving on a fun rollercoaster, hence I could see how that name could have been come up with. This is definitely a fascinating marvel of infrastructure, and I hope that it proves to be successful in facilitating traffic flow and reducing traffic congestion on these stretches of I-75 and I-575. This may indeed be signifying the new era in Metro Atlanta transportation in regards to Express lanes, and hopefully it will prevail in helping unclog the highways there that are choked with traffic. I have yet to have a chance to go on the new express lanes in real life (including the other set on I-75 in the southern Atlanta Metro Area), but now being able to see what it looks like online, it is incredibly mesmerizing.

[Tomahawkin]

Anyone notice that half of the HOV striping has been removed from the connector? Anyone know why? I heard about 6-7 years ago that the plan was to convert them into the same toll lane format that currently exists on IH 85 In Gwinnett County. Anyone hear anything about this?

[US 89]

So I've driven past these signs a few times now, on the Spring Street exit from northbound 75/85:

https://goo.gl/maps/pFfpQBxeGS92
https://goo.gl/maps/sfWHMHaraMw

They seem to suggest US 29 runs on the Spring/West Peachtree couplet, yet 29 runs through downtown on concurrencies with US 19/41 and US 78/278. Do these signs date back from a time when that was the case? If so, when did that change, and exactly what roads did 29 use?

And for that matter, did US 19 ever use that couplet? The BGS from the interstate seems to suggest it, though it appears to be relatively new compared to those signs on the exit.

[Tomahawkin]

Anyone seen the 400/285 interchange project? Hopefully the bridge beams start getting installed this summer. There is a lot left to do. My Big boy gut tells me that it may not be finished til 2021 because of all the rain and demolition of rock in the area. It reminds me of the 22/65 interchange in Birmingham with all the rock that is adjacent to the MARTA overpass...

[Tom958]

GDOT's latest major signage screwup, on I-20 eastbound approaching downtown Atlanta. After seeing a friend's photo of this yesterday, I thought that perhaps the erroneous sign had been designed and fabricated correctly, but installed in the wrong place. Now, though, it's obvious to me that someone thought that what you see here is correct. Wow.

As you can see, the Windsor Street sign has arrows pointing up and to the right, directing traffic across the path of vehicles following the down arrow to the McDaniel Street exit. That's why I thought that this sign had been intended for the point of divergence of the Windsor Street offramp, not half a mile upstream as we're seeing here.

Beyond that, even if the arrows on the Windsor Street sign were pointing down, it's against the 2009 MUTCD to sign an option lane in that manner. Moreover, while has recently deviated from that part of the MUTCD by using both white-on-green and black-on-yellow arrows at the point of divergence instead of two black-on-yellows, GDOT has stuck to the MUTCD scheme of using only one black-on-yellow arrow in advance of the exit, with the option lane being hidden. I'm explaining this not just as a matter of consistency: the reason that the current MUTCD scheme of hiding the option lane instead of denoting it with a white-on-green arrow is that a significant proportion of drivers misinterpret the white-on-green arrow as denoting a lane drop, and thus make unnecessary lane changes, sometimes in a panic. At this location, there are six eastbound lanes, of which four can or must use three exits over the next three quarters of a mile, and message overload precludes signing the lane assignments in detail. This is a place to *avoid* prompting dubious lane changes.

On a more trivial note, the Windsor Street sign also has a full-width exit number tab. Some find it aesthetically appealing, but it's inconsistent with current GDOT practice. Myself, I'd probably consider it an endearing little quirk if the rest of the sign wasn't so badly designed, but I've developed an attitude about it now.

[Georgia]

https://www.ajc.com/news/state--regional-govt--politics/extra-work-delays-285-400-interchange-project/6E4kWhXnyVIpixWImcyXeK/

It is going to be 2021 before the 400 and 285 interchange is done, lets just go ahead and get that out of the way.

[Tomahawkin]

I didn't know there was a DDI being built @ Abernathy. IMO They should totally gut the Roswell Rd bridge and redo it...

[Tomahawkin]

Well, elevated toll lanes are in plans for 285. 2 additional toll lanes in both directions from IH 20 in Decatur to the other side of IH 20 in West Atlanta. 300+ properties and businesses will have to be cleared for this to happen. I think the earliest completion time is 2026 through 2028. Dont take it to the bank on the completion dates. I just wonder if they are going to have higher toll lane flyovers at both Spaghetti Junction and the Cobb Cloverleaf??? Anyone know? Or have more 411???

[Tom958]

Well, elevated toll lanes are in plans for 285. 2 additional toll lanes in both directions from IH 20 in Decatur to the other side of IH 20 in West Atlanta.

Actually, it's to be a single lane in each direction on the east and west sides, but two lanes up 400. There are a series of public information meetings this week. Perhaps I'll see you there.

[Tomahawkin]

Only a Single lane? IMO, that would be just putting a bandaid on a bullet wound. 285 would still be congested on a regular basis because of the high traffic and truck volumes, especially on weekends...

[Georgia]

On the westside perimeter, they really need to add a lane and fix the 20 interchange.  One express lane may work if they can get the truck situation improved as it really bogs down around the interchanges.  C/D lanes starting at Hollowell Parkway and making all movements right side only would also help.  285N to 20W is really killed in the afternoon by 18 wheelers having to cross from right to left after Cascade exit.

[Tomahawkin]

285 regardless of where you're at is always congested at one time or another. 80 percent of the interchanges on that interstate cant handle the traffic volumes for at least 12 hours out of the day. And I'm putting that lightly. Truck drivers avoid that interstate during the week and use it on weekends which bleeps up traffic on weekends when GDOT wants to do paving work on Saturday afternoons.... OY

[Georgia]

On the westside express lanes, I really hope they put the midpoint exit at South Cobb Drive; the only other 2 options i really see are Atlanta Road and Church Street.
highly doubt they would put more than one mid-stream access point given that it is 10 to 11 miles.

[Avalanchez71]

285 regardless of where you're at is always congested at one time or another. 80 percent of the interchanges on that interstate cant handle the traffic volumes for at least 12 hours out of the day. And I'm putting that lightly. Truck drivers avoid that interstate during the week and use it on weekends which bleeps up traffic on weekends when GDOT wants to do paving work on Saturday afternoons.... OY

It has gotten to the point to just use I-75 through town versus taking I-285 around town.

[Tomahawkin]

I often do that to avoid 285 on weekends when GDOT Likes to do "Suprise" paving projects where they take away 3 lanes. I work my way around the connector by using GA 155 or U.S. 23, and if I really want to get Funky with it I will "act hard down the Boulevard" to stay away from the connector and the IH 20 hellish bottleneck, lol

[Tomahawkin]

!!!Fair Warning!!! After driving through the 400/285 interchange earlier it seems as if they are going to close the ramp from 285W to 400N on weekends. This causes backups at the ramps to Peachtree and Ashford Dunwoody roads. It's a dangerous area to be in because the traffic on the ramps backs onto the interstate. Expect many wrecks there on weekends...

[Great Lakes Roads]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBMdzn5Hqfk

A video of the I-285 express lanes on the Eastside.