Georgia

[adventurernumber1]

Double post! 

On October 23 I was in an accident at work that left me with a not-too-badly broken pelvis. I'm doing well and I'll be leaving the rehab hospital today, but it'll be weeks before I can walk, let alone drive or go back to work.

Why am I telling you this? Well, a while back, I emailed GDOT about this signage boogerup, and eventually they sent a form-letter email back. The last time I was over there, they hadn't corrected the problem, but they hadn't compounded the mistake by screwing up the remaining compressed font signs at the GA 141 northbound exit, either, so I'm still hopeful. If anybody's in the area, would you kindly have a look?

Oh, man, so sorry about your injury. I hope you're able to recover quickly and efficiently. Prayers out to you so that you may stay healthy & safe in the future and that you may recover alright.

[Gnutella]

This past weekend I went to visit my friend in Cumming, and I noticed that the "thru" lanes on GA 316 at GA 20/GA 124 are now open. Hallelujah! I'm a bit disappointed that the highway is still four lanes, though. Oh well. Maybe soon that'll change. Next thing they need to do is build interchanges at U.S. 29 and Harbins Road.

Also, widening work on GA 20 between Buford and Cumming seems to be making good progress. There are a few retaining walls that have been built near Peachtree Industrial Boulevard, and they seem to indicate what the new grade of the road will be. Much of the right of way in the construction zone is being graded, though there are still some "buttes" where the power lines are. I get the sense that utility relocation is imminent. I also noticed that they've begun clearing vegetation along the two-lane segment in Forsyth County, so work is just now getting underway there.

[adventurernumber1]

@Gnutella, I'm actually going to the Athens area this weekend to see family and go to the Georgia/Auburn game (leaving either Friday evening or Saturday morning), and I'm excited to see the progress on the exit they've been building on GA 316 in Lawrenceville! Lord knows how long they've been working on that now. I'd love to one day see GA SR 316 entirely limited-access, and a widening from 2 to 3 lanes each way wouldn't be bad either.

[Tom958]

This past weekend I went to visit my friend in Cumming, and I noticed that the "thru" lanes on GA 316 at GA 20/GA 124 are now open. Hallelujah! I'm a bit disappointed that the highway is still four lanes, though. Oh well. Maybe soon that'll change. Next thing they need to do is build interchanges at U.S. 29 and Harbins Road.

I was over there, too, even took a few photos, though they weren't worth posting, IMO. Oh: Months back, I finally read the project concept report. The idea is that someday they'll add a barrier separated HOV lane with full-width shoulders. That's why the median's so huge.

My son's girlfriend attends and works at Georgia Gwinnett College-- I rode along with my son to pick her up. Thankfully, the deadly-looking RTO access to/from the college at 316 is finally closed. We didn't even use 316 to get to the college-- instead, we used Walther Blvd from Lawrenceville-Suwanee Road. Access to/from the east is fairly straightforward, too, with the new frontage road from the westbound 316 ramps being an extension of Collins Industrial Way, the road that already provided access to the 316 side of the campus. Walther Blvd was built at about the same time as the GA 120-US 29 segment of GA 316, and it extends across 316, though there's only ever been RTO access there. '90's documents call for an HOV interchange there, but I'm not sure what, if anything, they have in mind there now. Meanwhile, though, it'd be kind of neato to have a roundabout at Walther and Collins Industrial, if only as a landmark for people bound for the college.

Unsurprisingly, my bud in Dacula reports that the opening of the through lanes has made no difference to him, since the problem has just been moved east to the next traffic light. More ominously, my parents, who live in Grayson, insist that their trip toward the Braves stadium via GA 20 is no better than it was before. 

[Gnutella]

Yeah, those dinky ramps between GA 120 and Collins Hill Road had to go. I haven't gotten to look at the reconstructed interchange close enough since I always turn onto GA 20 to go toward the Mall of Georgia, but I hope that there will still be room for three "normal" travel lanes in each direction even if they build the HOV lanes.

As for the bottleneck that moved, that tends to happen on highways that are utter failures of civil engineering once a segment gets upgraded. Same thing happened on PA 28 in Pittsburgh, which used to be a shitty, dangerous four-lane "boulevard" inside the city limits, but is now a limited-access "parkway" to go with the rest of the highway outside the city limits. The problem now is that the bottleneck has moved north to an interchange that has a temporary lane drop, so that's the next big project for PennDOT to do. Amazingly, the old bottleneck was so bad that traffic actually moved more smoothly while the road was being reconstructed.

Back to GA 316, the immediate thing that GDOT needs to do is build interchanges at U.S. 29 and Harbins Road. They also need to build overpasses for Hi-Hope Road, Progress Center Boulevard and Fence Road, and make Hurricane Trail into a dead end. The Publix trucks can get on GA 316 at a new Cedars Road interchange instead. Also, Reynolds Road and the segment of Hurricane Shoals Road north of the highway should be connected somehow so there's a continuous frontage road. As it is right now, there's a missing segment near the Gwinnett County Sheriff's precinct. Maybe even rename Reynolds Road as Hurricane Shoals Extension or something.

Of course, once all this stuff gets done, the bottleneck will become Barrow County's problem. 

[adventurernumber1]

On this thread I just made, there are some pictures for updates on some of the projects mentioned on this thread recently. Including the: New exit on GA SR 316 in Lawrenceville at GA 20/124, and also a couple of pictures of the construction on I-75 in Cobb County: https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=13986.0

[Eth]

Double post! 

On October 23 I was in an accident at work that left me with a not-too-badly broken pelvis. I'm doing well and I'll be leaving the rehab hospital today, but it'll be weeks before I can walk, let alone drive or go back to work.

Why am I telling you this? Well, a while back, I emailed GDOT about this signage boogerup, and eventually they sent a form-letter email back. The last time I was over there, they hadn't corrected the problem, but they hadn't compounded the mistake by screwing up the remaining compressed font signs at the GA 141 northbound exit, either, so I'm still hopeful. If anybody's in the area, would you kindly have a look?

Just went through this area about half an hour ago - the signs appear to still be the same as in the photo.

[Tom958]

I'm older, I guess. Plus I had occasion to travel that way often, starting in 1970 or so.

There was never an interchange at I-75 and Allgood, though by 1968 the pavement for I-75 stopped just short of there. The temporary end of I-75 was at the GA 120 North Loop, which... the interchange was completed, but the roadway east of there wasn't, so that northbound I-75 traffic could make that slow curve unimpeded by a traffic light.

The bridges at the GA 120 North Loop and Gresham Road immediately south of there were of late '60's design, but the one over Roswell Road had a guardrail type used only in 1964-66 in Georgia, so I presume that there was a time when I-75 ended at the GA 120 South Loop.

I don't remember HOW it ended - or exactly where. But I know that it ended in Marietta prior to opening to Roberts Road (Barrett Parkway) in late-1975 or early-'76. I remember driving on the Roberts Road-to-US411 stretch for the first time in June of 1978 right after I graduated high school.

Before I'd checked historicaerials.com, I would've blurted out that the pavement ended where the asphalt now changes to concrete. However, that actually occurs quite a bit north of Allgood Road. All of original I-75 from inside the city of Atlanta to Barrett Parkway was concrete, but the part that was finished before 1968 was four lanes with a sixty foot median. It was widened to eight lanes of asphalt in the late -70's-early '80's. As I recall, the six lane concrete section north of Allgood Road survived until  I-575 was built the cheapo addition of two more lanes to I-75 north of 285 in the early '80's, at which point two concrete lanes in each direction were added in the median.

Being unable to specifically remember, I'm guessing that what is now the asphalt-paved section north of Allgood Road was a transition section, first from four lanes to six, then six lanes to eight. 

[Fred Defender]

Good info, Tom. Thanks.

Until 1968, we lived in Ohio and used to drive to Florida to visit my grandparents. After we moved to Florida, we made yearly trips back to Ohio to visit relatives that we left behind.

It's funny, the little bits of information that I remember. I recall traversing on the Adairsville-US411 stretch for the first time in the summer of 1973. I believe that it opened in '72 but that was the only year that we did not make the trip.

P.S.: You've only got a couple of years on me.

[Tom958]

It's way too late now, but I wish there was an I-75 in Georgia thread. We've had some pretty good discussion here.

Until 1968, we lived in Ohio and used to drive to Florida to visit my grandparents. After we moved to Florida, we made yearly trips back to Ohio to visit relatives that we left behind.

For us, it was my aunt and uncle-- my Mom's little sister and her husband-- being transferred from Greenville NC to Cartersville GA. They were dreading the prospect of being sent to Cleveland OH instead. I shouldn't be so selfish, but fewer but more epic trips to Cleveland would've been better for my roadgeekery. Or, better, a yearly triangle between there, Newport News/Hampton where most of my Mom's family lives, and the ATL.  Wheee!!

It's funny, the little bits of information that I remember. I recall traversing on the Adairsville-US411 stretch for the first time in the summer of 1973. I believe that it opened in '72 but that was the only year that we did not make the trip.

I'd wondered about why 75 ended in Adairsville for so long...

Do you remember the nonstandard signage that GDOT erected warning motorists about how horrible US 41 was? The signs were very large and multicolored-- mostly red and blue on white, but no green, IIRC. The ones at the end of the detour included actual, regulation yellow smiley faces. FHWA was annoyed at the nonstandardness, but GDOT was pretty honey badgery about it, and the public liked the signs. That said, IIRC they were removed when the southern end of the detour was moved from the 120 loop to Barrett Parkway.

As I alluded to earlier, I-75 between West Paces and Barrett Parkway was widened in two phases: first, to eight lanes, then by shoehorning in two more lanes wherever they'd fit without tearing down bridges. That second phase was when the notorious eight lane northbound roadway between Windy Hill Road and Delk Road was built. Again, before reviewing historicaerials.com, I would've said that both phases were done before they actually were. That 1978 aerial shows 75 in its original condition when the northern segment of 285 was already complete-- I misremembered that 75 followed very closely on the heels of the 285 widening. And... the Gresham Road bridge over I-75 was replaced, but it's dated 1990. And some of the bridges on I-575 are dated as early as 1979. Now I'm completely confused. 

One interesting aspect of that two-phase widening: The Windy Hill Road replacement bridge over I-75 and the bridges for the ramp braids between 285 and Windy Hill were built in the first phase, but the ramps utilizing them were reconfigured during the second phase. Originally, traffic from Windy Hill to 285 entered the three-lane ramp from southbound 75 as a fourth, right lane before that ramp split two and two for 285 eastbound and westbound. The ramp braid bridge was used only for traffic from Windy Hill to 75, and the loop ramp from the original interchange configuration was redundant, though it was left open.

In the second phase, the access ramp from Windy Hill to 285 was closed, a new ramp was built entering the two-lane ramp to 285 southbound from the left (!), and traffic from Windy Hill to 285 eastbound was via that legacy loop ramp, which was no longer redundant. As cobbled-together as it looks, I find it hard to believe that the phase one condition just wasn't well enough thought out.   

Closing out this overlong post, I read the I-75 North Corridor Study Strategic Corridor Improvement Program and noted the most interesting parts:

Add Capacity to I-75 between Barrett Pkwy (Exit 269) and Glade Rd (Exit 278), construction 2021-23, $94m.
Add Capacity to I-75 between Glade Rd (Exit 278) and Old Allatoona Rd (Exit 283), construction 2024-25, $79m.
Add Capacity to I-75 between SR 151 (Exit 348) and I-24 (Exit 2), construction 2023-25, $107m.

The rest of ATL to GA 20 and Dalton to TN are after 2030. But...

Add Capacity to Carbondale Rd from I-75 to US-41, construction 2017-18, $13.052m, and South Calhoun Bypass, construction 2016, $10.416m. The table I'm copying from starts in 2016, so maybe the starts for these two are earlier and more expensive than these entries indicate.

[Eth]

Not sure if anyone's mentioned this, but I noticed while driving to Charlotte yesterday that all the guide signage on I-85 north of I-985 has been replaced with the new style. No more old Series D signs up that way.

[OracleUsr]

It's been like that at least since 2013 (I only know that because I drove down that way in Sept 2013 and the signage was upgraded all the way to Exit 115)

[adventurernumber1]

As of today I have some updates on some road projects in north Georgia.

On the exit they're building on I-75 at Union Grove Road near Calhoun, there's been a decent amount of work done on some of the exit ramps:





They're reconstructing Exit 315 on I-75 in Calhoun (GA SR 156/Red Bud Road), and now the Northbound lanes are at where the median used to be. That project has been going on for a while, but lately there's been a good deal of progress.

[Tom958]

Here's the Jimmy Carter Blvd bridge, still under construction. Since I was injured I don't get out much, but I first saw these decorative metal frames being erected on November 20th. A month later, virtually no progress. The Jimmy Carter DDI must be the most snakebit GDOT project since I-675.


That sign boogerup mentioned in this post (thanks, Eth!) is still unchanged, too.

[Tom958]

Two more photos of the Jimmy Carter-I-85 DDI, one eastbound...


...one westbound. The compulsory right turn lane I'm in predates the DDI project; it used to have a formidable curb that extended all the way back to the last street before 85, forcing motorists to turn right onto 85. it never got me, but my Dad fell victim to it once. 

Also, it's hard to see in this photo, but the narrow concrete median has been ripped out and paved over.

The bulbouts leading into the crossovers seem abrupt to me.

[afone]

Raising the state sales tax by a penny would generate about $1.4 billion a year, according to the report, while increasing the gasoline tax by 10 cents per gallon would produce about $600 million annually.
Other options the committee urged the legislature to consider include:
-- Dedicating the fourth penny of the gasoline tax, which currently goes into the state's general fund, to transportation.
-- Indexing the gasoline tax to inflation, construction costs or the price of gasoline.
-- Establishing an annual road usage fee for alternative fuel vehicles, including hybrids, low-emission and zero-emission vehicles.
-- Recapitalizing the Georgia Transportation Infrastructure Bank, a fund administered by the State Road and Tollway Authority that provides grants and loans to local governments.
Without calling specifically for the state to start providing direct funding to MARTA, the only transit system in a major U.S. city that doesn't receive state aid, the report called for lawmakers to "acknowledge" the need for more investment in the 128 transit systems across Georgia.

http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/blog/capitol_vision/2014/12/committee-raise-taxes-to-pay-for-transportation.html?page=2

[Gnutella]

Raising the state sales tax by a penny would generate about $1.4 billion a year, according to the report, while increasing the gasoline tax by 10 cents per gallon would produce about $600 million annually.
Other options the committee urged the legislature to consider include:
-- Dedicating the fourth penny of the gasoline tax, which currently goes into the state's general fund, to transportation.
-- Indexing the gasoline tax to inflation, construction costs or the price of gasoline.
-- Establishing an annual road usage fee for alternative fuel vehicles, including hybrids, low-emission and zero-emission vehicles.
-- Recapitalizing the Georgia Transportation Infrastructure Bank, a fund administered by the State Road and Tollway Authority that provides grants and loans to local governments.
Without calling specifically for the state to start providing direct funding to MARTA, the only transit system in a major U.S. city that doesn't receive state aid, the report called for lawmakers to "acknowledge" the need for more investment in the 128 transit systems across Georgia.

http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/blog/capitol_vision/2014/12/committee-raise-taxes-to-pay-for-transportation.html?page=2

Oh boy, the "Tea Party" contingency will surely blow a gasket now.

[afone]

The tea part types can complain all they want, but with Georgia's improving economy and worsening traffic, the state needs to raise taxes for transportation. Also when it comes to economic development the state needs to invest in our transportation network. North Carolina and even Florida are prime examples of states that have invested heavily in their systems and are reaping the benefits.

[afone]

This project will extend the road from I-75 to SR 247. In the future it could be extended to I-16 in Twiggs County or possibly become part of the proposed I-14.
http://www.macon.com/2014/12/31/3506415_state-oks-533-million-road-extension.html?sp=/99/100/&rh=1

[lordsutch]

This project will extend the road from I-75 to SR 247. In the future it could be extended to I-16 in Twiggs County or possibly become part of the proposed I-14.
http://www.macon.com/2014/12/31/3506415_state-oks-533-million-road-extension.html?sp=/99/100/&rh=1

Except for an interchange at US 129/GA 247, it's being built as a 45 mph arterial with a narrow median, sidewalks, and bike lanes. If the extension to I-16 and eventually to GA 57 happens, it might become the Fall Line (Not) Freeway routing but it won't be anything close to an Interstate grade facility.

[afone]

That's true, perhaps they could build future I-14 south of this extension.

[Fred Defender]

Raising the state sales tax by a penny would generate about $1.4 billion a year, according to the report, while increasing the gasoline tax by 10 cents per gallon would produce about $600 million annually.
Other options the committee urged the legislature to consider include:
-- Dedicating the fourth penny of the gasoline tax, which currently goes into the state's general fund, to transportation.
-- Indexing the gasoline tax to inflation, construction costs or the price of gasoline.
-- Establishing an annual road usage fee for alternative fuel vehicles, including hybrids, low-emission and zero-emission vehicles.
-- Recapitalizing the Georgia Transportation Infrastructure Bank, a fund administered by the State Road and Tollway Authority that provides grants and loans to local governments.
Without calling specifically for the state to start providing direct funding to MARTA, the only transit system in a major U.S. city that doesn't receive state aid, the report called for lawmakers to "acknowledge" the need for more investment in the 128 transit systems across Georgia.

http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/blog/capitol_vision/2014/12/committee-raise-taxes-to-pay-for-transportation.html?page=2

Oh boy, the "Tea Party" contingency will surely blow a gasket now.

Funny you should bring it up:

I'm not a resident of the Peach State. But Heaven forbid government (local, state, or federal) should have to survive on existing sources of revenue. How much is "enough"?

[Gnutella]

Raising the state sales tax by a penny would generate about $1.4 billion a year, according to the report, while increasing the gasoline tax by 10 cents per gallon would produce about $600 million annually.
Other options the committee urged the legislature to consider include:
-- Dedicating the fourth penny of the gasoline tax, which currently goes into the state's general fund, to transportation.
-- Indexing the gasoline tax to inflation, construction costs or the price of gasoline.
-- Establishing an annual road usage fee for alternative fuel vehicles, including hybrids, low-emission and zero-emission vehicles.
-- Recapitalizing the Georgia Transportation Infrastructure Bank, a fund administered by the State Road and Tollway Authority that provides grants and loans to local governments.
Without calling specifically for the state to start providing direct funding to MARTA, the only transit system in a major U.S. city that doesn't receive state aid, the report called for lawmakers to "acknowledge" the need for more investment in the 128 transit systems across Georgia.

http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/blog/capitol_vision/2014/12/committee-raise-taxes-to-pay-for-transportation.html?page=2

Oh boy, the "Tea Party" contingency will surely blow a gasket now.

Funny you should bring it up:

I'm not a resident of the Peach State. But Heaven forbid government (local, state, or federal) should have to survive on existing sources of revenue. How much is "enough"?

More than is spent on transportation infrastructure right now. Just ask the ASCE.

[Tom958]

More than is spent on transportation infrastructure right now. Just ask the ASCE.

They say that about every state. 

I'm not a resident of the Peach State. But Heaven forbid government (local, state, or federal) should have to survive on existing sources of revenue. How much is "enough"?

The Tea Partiers say that about every state, too. 

[afone]

Nine miles of State Route 77 will be rebuilt and widened between Madison and Elbert Counties at a cost of $47.8 million. The project is being executed by a Snellville company and is expected to be done by December 2017.

http://onlineathens.com/local-news/2015-01-01/gdot-widen-sr77-madison-elbert-counties