Atlanta

[Tomahawkin]

Yes, those single lane left hand ramps are hell! I'm hoping that the ones at 285 and 78 are in plans to be eliminated when they add toll lanes to 285 in East Dekalb

[The Ghostbuster]

Now if they could just get rid of all left-handed exit and entrance ramps nationwide. Yes, I realize that is a pipe dream worthy of Fictional Highways, but it would make me happy.

[Finrod]

This driveway on Powers Ferry Road between Delk Road and Terrell Mill Road is proving problematic with the new stoplight put in there:

https://www.google.com/maps/@33.9214584,-84.4676531,3a,75y,206.56h,74.66t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s2ZmBbY_eRNpVwrXFVNz3wg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

Just to the south of that driveway is now a stoplight with a Wendy's behind it, so all it takes is 2 cars stopped at the stoplight and they're already starting to block that driveway.  I've seen 4x4 trucks pull out of there and nearly cause accidents.  IMHO that driveway should be closed and a new one that connects to the new road that goes to the Wendy's et al should be opened in its place.

[architect77]

This driveway on Powers Ferry Road between Delk Road and Terrell Mill Road is proving problematic with the new stoplight put in there:

https://www.google.com/maps/@33.9214584,-84.4676531,3a,75y,206.56h,74.66t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s2ZmBbY_eRNpVwrXFVNz3wg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

PLEASE EMAIL EVERYONE AT GDOT YOU CAN AND BRING IT TO THEIR ATTENTION.

Just to the south of that driveway is now a stoplight with a Wendy's behind it, so all it takes is 2 cars stopped at the stoplight and they're already starting to block that driveway.  I've seen 4x4 trucks pull out of there and nearly cause accidents.  IMHO that driveway should be closed and a new one that connects to the new road that goes to the Wendy's et al should be opened in its place.

[architect77]

Thank god all the left hand exits are gonna be eliminated, i know all tractor trailer drivers will be thrilled. 

But if we had higher requirements for driving ability in the US like Germany those left side merges would be adequate. I personally haven't ever been scared of them.

[architect77]

Here is a video from GDOT of the proposed rendering of the I-20/I-285 West interchange in Atlanta.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2esu2SRIKM

Much needed. That looks like another billion dollar interchange. That what happens when these are only means of going anywhere for 6-8 million people. 3 smaller separate highways would be better because one fender bender doesn't block hundreds of thousands of people from getting to their destination. Precovid 2 hour backups to get home on weeknights was a weekly occurence.

[SSF]

Thank god all the left hand exits are gonna be eliminated, i know all tractor trailer drivers will be thrilled. 

But if we had higher requirements for driving ability in the US like Germany those left side merges would be adequate. I personally haven't ever been scared of them.

I mean, it still has to be hell for a truck driver to go from the right lane getting on at Campbellton Road and then trying to get over the 4 lanes to the WB 20 exit in 1.5 miles as trucks arent technically allowed over until after Cascade Road. 

[Tomahawkin]

Drove through the 400/285 interchange construction again today. IMO GDOT underestimated how much rock blasting was going to be required. They had to blast rock at the Marta overpass Bridge, At Glenridge, At Roswell Road as well as at the Abernathy interchange for the DDI Construction there, this project wont be completed til 2022. It reminds me of the IH 22/65 interchange in Birmingham. Hopefully this project will open in segments! Because that 400 south to 285 right Circle cloverleaf ramp sucks Arse! I wish they had included gutting the Roswell Road interchange! It's a #### as well

[Tom958]

I'm late to the party. Sorry.

Expensive though it'll be, this isn't a Cadillac of an interchange. The 285 mainlines will stay as they are, as will most of the 20 mainline including the bridges over 285. Most of the original bridges will remain, as will the left-hand entrance for the ramp from westbound 20 to southbound 285.

Here is a video from GDOT of the proposed rendering of the I-20/I-285 West interchange in Atlanta.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2esu2SRIKM

Much needed. That looks like another billion dollar interchange. That what happens when these are only means of going anywhere for 6-8 million people. 3 smaller separate highways would be better because one fender bender doesn't block hundreds of thousands of people from getting to their destination. Precovid 2 hour backups to get home on weeknights was a weekly occurence.

[architect77]

Drove through the 400/285 interchange construction again today. IMO GDOT underestimated how much rock blasting was going to be required. They had to blast rock at the Marta overpass Bridge, At Glenridge, At Roswell Road as well as at the Abernathy interchange for the DDI Construction there, this project wont be completed til 2022. It reminds me of the IH 22/65 interchange in Birmingham. Hopefully this project will open in segments! Because that 400 south to 285 right Circle cloverleaf ramp sucks Arse! I wish they had included gutting the Roswell Road interchange! It's a #### as well

SPEAKING OF SEGMENTS... i just hate that GDOT is so blind to good aesthetics. Single flyovers in one curve switch back and forth using straight, precast concrete beams as much as possible and using exposed, curved steel as little as possible. One flyover at 400/285 has 3 different sections of beams, all facing I-285. They shouldn't be expressing curved shapes with straight beams as it just looks cheap. And it's not like they must be thrifty since Georgia has so few new roads over the last 30 years anyway. NC has probably 10 times more interchanges and yet they still use curved steel beams for every flyover in the state. GDOT is uglifying Atlanta's freeways which used to be somewhat pleasant and attractive. Today I-85 through Gwinnett and I-75 in Cobb are clusterf*cks of ugly and crooked structures.

[architect77]

Thank god all the left hand exits are gonna be eliminated, i know all tractor trailer drivers will be thrilled. 

But if we had higher requirements for driving ability in the US like Germany those left side merges would be adequate. I personally haven't ever been scared of them.

I mean, it still has to be hell for a truck driver to go from the right lane getting on at Campbellton Road and then trying to get over the 4 lanes to the WB 20 exit in 1.5 miles as trucks arent technically allowed over until after Cascade Road. 

I was just speaking about left-handed merges in general. I haven't really studied this West I-20 interchange, but I do know that it is the narrowest, most dangerous interstate in metro Atlanta. GDOT doesn't like to spend money on the Southside, and their discrimination is evident and it should be ended once and for all.

[jdb1234]

Thank god all the left hand exits are gonna be eliminated, i know all tractor trailer drivers will be thrilled. 

But if we had higher requirements for driving ability in the US like Germany those left side merges would be adequate. I personally haven't ever been scared of them.

I mean, it still has to be hell for a truck driver to go from the right lane getting on at Campbellton Road and then trying to get over the 4 lanes to the WB 20 exit in 1.5 miles as trucks arent technically allowed over until after Cascade Road. 

I was just speaking about left-handed merges in general. I haven't really studied this West I-20 interchange, but I do know that it is the narrowest, most dangerous interstate in metro Atlanta. GDOT doesn't like to spend money on the Southside, and their discrimination is evident and it should be ended once and for all.

The first thing I saw when I looked at it was that the tight loop ramp from I-20 East to I-285 North would be replaced with a flyover.  Traffic ends up slowing to a crawl navigating that ramp and backs up traffic on I-20.  It is that reason that when I am in the Atlanta area, I will take I-20 all the way to the Downtown Connector and get on I-85 that way.

My dad told me that this interchange has been a problem for as long as he could remember (we have family in Georgia and he had to go to Atlanta for work as well).

[Tomahawkin]

I seriously hope that all the interchange improvements at interchanges along 285 include street or high mast lighting? Its beyond me as to why there is little overhead lighting along one of the most dangerous interstates in the Country!

[architect77]

I seriously hope that all the interchange improvements at interchanges along 285 include street or high mast lighting? Its beyond me as to why there is little overhead lighting along one of the most dangerous interstates in the Country!

Lighting is the sole choice and responsibility of whatever town the highway is running through. So if it's unincorporated or the towns haven't thought about lighting as being needed or they don't want to pay for it, You know GDOT isn't going to make any effort to rally support for lighting on I-285.

I'm ok with no lighting. In theory, it should make other cars more visible and glare can blind some people who can't process lots of visual stimuli very well.

It is time for the lighting on atlanta's freeways to be converted to LED though.

[Tomahawkin]

I have only seen the LED Lighting on the rollercoaster and the 75 south toll lanes at the entrance and exit ramps. I dont think GDOT will make that conversion with the lighting I.T.P. ( Inside the Perimeter)

[architect77]

I have only seen the LED Lighting on the rollercoaster and the 75 south toll lanes at the entrance and exit ramps. I dont think GDOT will make that conversion with the lighting I.T.P. ( Inside the Perimeter)

It's probably up to the cities that pay for the specific lights. I mean eventually they must be replaced, because they are so dim and ineffectual compared to the white LEDs that now have completely replaced all of Georgia Power's street lights.

One day on an AJC forum I scolded former mayor SHirley Franklin for turning off the freeway lights during the recession to save money. She blasted back that the state should have paid for them, but I'd implement pay cuts before turning off the lights which affect everyone in the city.

[skluth]

I have only seen the LED Lighting on the rollercoaster and the 75 south toll lanes at the entrance and exit ramps. I dont think GDOT will make that conversion with the lighting I.T.P. ( Inside the Perimeter)

It's probably up to the cities that pay for the specific lights. I mean eventually they must be replaced, because they are so dim and ineffectual compared to the white LEDs that now have completely replaced all of Georgia Power's street lights.

One day on an AJC forum I scolded former mayor SHirley Franklin for turning off the freeway lights during the recession to save money. She blasted back that the state should have paid for them, but I'd implement pay cuts before turning off the lights which affect everyone in the city.

Easy to say when it's not your pay being cut

[ran4sh]

Oddly, the interchange has been numbered Exit 5. Why not Exit 24?

Certainly exit 5 wouldn't make any sense at all; even assuming sequential numbering a la GA 400 and only counting existing interchanges, surely that would make it exit 6, would it not?

Numbering it as exit 6 would certainly be consistent with Georgia's other non-interstate freeways which also use sequential/consecutive numbering. But I think they opted not to do that because other interchanges are already planned and it wouldn't make sense to renumber the exits so soon.

The exit number of 5 seems to come from the mile posts (which reset to 0 at county lines), so this one is 5 miles from the Gwinnett/Barrow county line. If there was no county line reset of mileposts, the milepost at this location should be 21.

[Tomahawkin]

@Architect 77. It baffles me that there are only 2 access point to Buckhead via 400 in such a densely populated area. 6 lanes total through there sucks! That route is going to be part of my daily commute. I will take the over in a hour drive From Alpharetta to Emory.

[Finrod]

@Architect 77. It baffles me that there are only 2 access point to Buckhead via 400 in such a densely populated area. 6 lanes total through there sucks! That route is going to be part of my daily commute. I will take the over in a hour drive From Alpharetta to Emory.

Yeah, Georgia 400 really could use a 4th lane on each side from Buckhead to I-285.  Unfortunately there's no space to expand it where it goes under those buildings south of the main Buckhead exit so that will remain 3 lanes to a side for the foreseeable future.

[Tomahawkin]

Yep, I thought that they should have address that bottleneck between Buckhead and 285 when they took down the toll plaza. The irony in that is that people on IH 85 in Gwinnett county have to pay upwards to 15 dollars (in 1 direction) to use the toll lanes on weekdays

[architect77]

@Architect 77. It baffles me that there are only 2 access point to Buckhead via 400 in such a densely populated area. 6 lanes total through there sucks! That route is going to be part of my daily commute. I will take the over in a hour drive From Alpharetta to Emory.

A year or two ago they announced that Piedmont Rd. would get an additional lane in bothe directions for the very short distance between Peachtree and Lenox Rd. loop extension behind Tower Plsce to help with this massive chokepoint that all of Buckhead has to use.

Rooms to Go remodeled their store to allow space for the new lane. But lately it's all repaved and there's 200 more apts. right at the throat of the chokepoint but no new lanes, so I guess they changed their minds.

Also 2 years ago there was talk about adding just an exit to the Lenox mall near East Paces. but that's gone no where and now they are building a large building right at that spot.

The GA400 interchange at the Lenox loop extention is unique because it has embedded lane lights in the pavement to help guide you with the large area of the left turns at this single-point urban interchange.

in the early 90's my visiting friends were wowed at night when the signal changed and the pavement lights switched following the long arcs of lanes for left hand turns.

But maintenance has never been one of Georgia's strong suits, and once the original bulbs went out they weren't ever replaced even once so the $50-100K that the system of these lights cost was totally wasted. I have asked GDOT and the Buckhead Business Coalition to get them working again to no avail. The poles holding the span wire signals at this area and on Sidney Marcus have arms for streetlights that have sat for 25 years waiting for the lights to be installed. They shouldn't be there without lights attached.

But no toll road in modern times is originally built with 8 lanes. Almost all are 4 or 6 lanes, and I don't know if GA400 was built for a 4th future lane but it is tight under those buildings.

Before the pandemic they were actively proceeding with capping 400 with a park at that spot and had raised half of the $200 million or more the park would cost. It may happen one day.

That toll supposedly generated about $40k a day and they delayed its removal for a year to pay for the Capt. Herb Emory flyover to I-85 North which I guess got VE'd out of the original construction.

i don't not like the cost-cutting style of projects from this one to the present. Thank God in the 80's they built the swoopy and elegant supports for the highways. Spaghetti junction is a work of art, but it wouldn't be with straight precast members that they define curves with now. Ugh!

[Tomahawkin]

Word on the Streets is that the tall flyover ramp from 400 SB to IH 285 east is open? Any truth to this? I'm not going to be in that area until next weekend. Also there is a lot of work left to be completed at both the Hammond Drive and Abernathy interchanges along 400 due to the fact that a lot of Rock has to be blasted along that hill

[architect77]

Yep, I thought that they should have address that bottleneck between Buckhead and 285 when they took down the toll plaza. The irony in that is that people on IH 85 in Gwinnett county have to pay upwards to 15 dollars (in 1 direction) to use the toll lanes on weekdays

They choose to pay for moving hopefully at 45mph or faster by using a high occupancy lane as a single driver. It's bad on several levels.

When it's up tp $15 that means too many are using the lane & those who don't direly need to be somewhere at a certain time shouldn't use the lane at that given time.

I'd probably do it sometimes also though.

[architect77]

Word on the Streets is that the tall flyover ramp from 400 SB to IH 285 east is open? Any truth to this? I'm not going to be in that area until next weekend. Also there is a lot of work left to be completed at both the Hammond Drive and Abernathy interchanges along 400 due to the fact that a lot of Rock has to be blasted along that hill

This is one long flyover forming one arc that switches to different supports 3 times, precast straight beams, then exposed steel curves directly over i-285, then back to straight concrete beams again.

It looks piece-meal and is the most visible flyover for I-285 drivers.

I am disappointed at how blind they are to aesthetics. The state builds virtually no new roads so it's not like the nominal costs savings of mismatched supports was critical in completing their workload.