Georgia

[afguy]

Cool little video from the Augusta Chronicle about the history of the John C. Calhoun Expressway..
https://youtu.be/O1VO-wrHhlk

[afguy]

Here's another project form GDOT's files. This time its Project DeRenne in Savannah. This massive project will help improve traffic flow along DeRenne Avenue in Midtown Savannah.

Project DeRenne-Savannah/Chatham County by brandon walker, on Flickr
The rendering above shows the plans for the I-516 Eastern Terminus at DeRenne, also known as the boulevard option, this project will be the phase part of the three part project aimed at improving traffic flow along DeRenne Avenue in Midtown Savannah. The project above will consists of a new connection via an interchange with I-516 (just west of
Mildred Street) continuing along the alignment of a widened Hampstead Avenue (four-lane divided
section with multi-use path) to a realignment of White Bluff Road  The project will include elevation of the inbound travel lanes over reconfigured access to Hunter Army Airfield and elevation of the outbound travel lanes over I-516/DeRenne Avenue. The project begins approximately 1,400' west of the DeRenne Avenue and Montgomery Street intersection and ends approximately 500' south of the current intersection of Hampstead Avenue and White Bluff Road. Montgomery Street will be reconstructed from a four lane divided roadway to a two-lane, median divided neighborhood street with on-street parking, 8-foot sidewalks and a planting strip. This section of Montgomery Street is approximately. The existing intersection of White Bluff. Road with Hampstead Avenue will be modified such that the through movement becomes northbound to westbound and eastbound to southbound with the remaining leg of White Bluff (connecting to DeRenne Avenue) teed into the outside of the new curve. Bicycle and pedestrian traffic to and from the Hunter Army Airfield will be accommodated on a multi-use path south of the Hampstead alignment that connects on the east to the pedestrian enhanced intersection with White Bluff. Landscaping, pedestrian lighting and street lighting will be included.
Project DeRenne-Savannah/Chatham County by brandon walker, on Flickr

Project DeRenne-Savannah/Chatham County by brandon walker, on Flickr

Project DeRenne-Savannah/Chatham County by brandon walker, on Flickr

Project DeRenne-Savannah/Chatham County by brandon walker, on Flickr

Project DeRenne-Savannah/Chatham County by brandon walker, on Flickr

Project DeRenne-Savannah/Chatham County by brandon walker, on Flickr

Project DeRenne is a massive project that will help improve the traffic flow through Midtown Savannah. Project DeRenne will be broken down into three projects.  The rendering above shows the improvements that will be made to DeRenne betwee Montgomery and Harry Truman Parkway. Improvements to this section include access management, intersection improvements, new raised medians and pedestrian improvements.

[afguy]

Here's a project I found in GDOT's files tonight that's planned for Albany. It will build a new connector road to connect Westover Blvd and Ledo Road near Albany Mall. The project will require two bridges to take the Liberty Expressway over the new road. Also a roundabout will be built at N. Westover Blvd  near the mall.
Westover Blvd/Ledo Rd Connector-Dougherty County by brandon walker, on Flickr

[Tom958]

Thanks, afguy! 

[afguy]

Thanks! Does anyone know if GDOT has plans to finally widen I-20 between Villa Rica and the Alabama state line. I've been trying to find info on GDOT's website, but haven't been able to find anything. Considering the amount of freight and regular traffic between Tuscaloosa and Florence,SC, all of I-20 needs to be six lanes imo. 

[lordsutch]

I'm not sure it's that urgent west of Villa Rica. ALDOT is only widening its section east of Anniston/Oxford because the existing roadway was/is falling apart and it would need six lanes by the end of its design life. (West of Anniston/Oxford in AL there's probably more immediate need.)

[xcellntbuy]

Traveled the Fall Line Freeway from Macon to US 441/GA 29 south of Milledgeville.  Concrete exit ramps are largely installed east of US 441/GA 29.  The shields at the temporary end ramp eastbound on the Fall Line Freeway indicate US 441 and "US" 29.  And, quite surprisingly, there was an occasional car to be seen traveling the freeway besides my own!

[lordsutch]

Traveled the Fall Line Freeway from Macon to US 441/GA 29 south of Milledgeville.  Concrete exit ramps are largely installed east of US 441/GA 29.  The shields at the temporary end ramp eastbound on the Fall Line Freeway indicate US 441 and "US" 29.  And, quite surprisingly, there was an occasional car to be seen traveling the freeway besides my own!

Here's some footage from my Mapillary trek last month.

[Tom958]

Last night, someone on the Peach State Roads Facebook group posted a video of 75-85 through downtown Atlanta, and I noticed that the relatively recent 2009 MUTCD compliant conventional signage approaching I-20

https://www.google.com/maps/@33.7328904,-84.3919397,3a,75y,356.81h,82.25t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s_9wv-fyRIikrIsBRy_hEHg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

has been replaced with APL's.

[afguy]

Work will begin Monday on replacing the worn and rusted metal gaurdrail on Riverwatch Parkway in Augusta with a new concrete median and decorative lighting. It should be complete by next summer. This project will really help improve the ride into Downtown Augusta on this highway.

"The number of TIA (Trans­por­tation Investment Act) projects on this roadway may seem high, but each has a specific scope,"  spokesman Kyle Collins said. "All of the contractors involved understand this is a high traffic area and will do their best during construction to have the least amount of impact to motorists. At the end of the day, we are talking about over a $20 million investment."
Crews have started on the other projects. Intersection improvements at Stevens Creek and Furys Ferry roads include updating signal infrastructure, shoulder widening, adding pedestrian facilities and improving lighting. The River Watch Parkway adaptive signal project will provide intelligent transportation systems to the traffic signals that will adjust signal timing to respond to real-time fluctuations in traffic, according to the Transportation De­part­ment. The project is expected to reduce travel times and fuel consumption.
The latest project was awarded to Beam's Contracting for nearly $9.3 million and is expected to begin on the 15th Street side of River Watch with an expected completion date of July 31. The project will involve construction of 7.02 miles of median barrier, milling and plant mix resurfacing on River Watch Parkway from 15th Street to the Colum­bia County line. Decora­tive lighting will also be added to the area.

http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/metro/2015-10-16/river-watch-parkway-construction-project-start-monday?v=1445025147

[afguy]

GDOT is currently realigning and widening Berckmans Rd near the Augusta Nation Golf Club. This project is to accommodate the growing crowds at the Masters. Work should be complete by late 2016 or early 2017.
Berckmans Rd widening and realignment Project-Augusta by brandon walker, on Flickr

Berckmans Rd widening and realignment Project-Augusta by brandon walker, on Flickr

Berckmans Rd widening and realignment Project-Augusta by brandon walker, on Flickr

Berckmans Rd widening and Realignment-Augusta by brandon walker, on Flickr

Berckmans Rd widening and realignment Project-Augusta by brandon walker, on Flickr

Berckmans Rd widening and realignment Project-Augusta by brandon walker, on Flickr

Berckmans Rd widening and Realignment Project-Augusta by brandon walker, on Flickr

Here are some renderings of the proposed designs for the new bridge over Rae's Creek.
Berckmans Rd widening and realignment Project-Augusta by brandon walker, on Flickr

Berckmans Rd widening and realignment-Augusta by brandon walker, on Flickr

[afguy]

Pretty interesting article from WABE about plans to make I-85 between LaGrange and the Alabama State Line a "green corridor". Some of the ideas are bold like algae farms embedded into overpasses and bridges for wildlife. Overall, I like the idea and I hope it happens.

Anderson pledged his company to something called "Mission Zero." By the year 2020, Interface would make carpet with zero environmental impact.

"When you've got the greenest industrialist of the century named after a dirty highway, he would say 'Go do something good with it'," says Anderson's daughter, Harriet Langford.

(Anderson died of cancer in 2011, at the age of 77).

Langford is also president of the Ray C. Anderson Foundation, which approached The Georgia Conservancy and Ray's alma mater, Georgia Tech, about doing something bigger and bolder -- The Mission Zero Corridor (recently rechristened "The Ray").

"Nobody's just thought how can we make it better? How can it be an energy producer? How can we reduce our carbon?" Langford says.

That job fell into the hands of Richard Dagenhart. He's not a highway engineer, but an architect and professor at Georgia Tech.

Working with current and former students, he set out to find ways to make an interstate weave into its environment. They looked at not just the highway, but all of the land, communities, and ecosystems around it.

They came up with 103 pages of ideas. Some are pretty wild -- algae farms embedded into overpasses, bridges for wildlife, lighting that adjusts to cycles of the moon. Others are more straightforward -- restoring a creek that runs along the highway and better land use to avoid the sprawl and clutter that's common on interstates. There's one that's already taken root -- a solar powered electric vehicle now stands at the Georgia Welcome Center on the Alabama state line.

But the majority of the corridor remains a concept. A company in the U.K. is sorting through the ideas to determine which are feasible. They'll issue a report by the end of the year. And there's the bigger question: is it even possible to make a highway sustainable?

"It's definitely a substantial effort to retrofit a highway that already exists and put it back into maybe making a lower footprint," says Jeralee Anderson, Executive Director of Greenroads. The Seattle-based group has developed a sustainability ratings system for streets and highways. She says that can have as much to do with cars as the highway itself, with more consumers choosing electric and hybrid models and gas-powered vehicles gain more fuel efficiency.

Funding is an unanswered question, too. Kia Motors, which has an assembly plant on the corridor, funded that electric charging station. The Georgia Department of Transportation has passed a resolution in support of the project, but GDOT hasn't said if they'll help pay for it. Organizers say they're hoping to attract a mix of public, private, and corporate support to make The Mission Zero Corridor a reality.

Harriet Langford, Ray Anderson's daughter, says the project is already changing perceptions.

http://www.gpb.org/news/2015/10/23/how-green-can-interstate-be

[xcellntbuy]

What they need to do is pave Interstate 20, period.

[afguy]

John C. Calhoun Expressway-Augusta
Augusta by brandon walker, on Flickr
John C. Calhoun Expressway. This view is from the Milledge St. Bridge looking toward Downtown. This view will look different in two years as the expressway will undergo a makeover.

[afguy]

With the temporary flow of federal money again, GDOT let $264 million worth of today that had been deferred...

Last week, Congress passed an extension authorizing federal transportation spending through mid-November. Before lawmakers acted, the DOT had announced it would not release federal funds because of the uncertain outlook for federal funding.

"A funding extension to Nov. 20, 2015, indicates a willingness to achieve a long-term transportation funding bill that this country desperately needs,"  DOT Commissioner Russell McMurry said. "The downside of the one-month extension is that the funding will not adequately advance all of the projects that are ready to go to bid in December and January."
Previsously deferred projects awarded include 15 miles of resurfacing work and operational improvements along Interstate 20 in Fulton, Cobb and Douglas counties. The $40 million project is to be competed by the end of next year.

http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/blog/capitol_vision/2015/11/georgia-dot-starts-federal-funds-flowing-again.html

[Tom958]

With the temporary flow of federal money again, GDOT let $264 million worth of today that had been deferred...

15 miles of resurfacing work and operational improvements along Interstate 20 in Fulton, Cobb and Douglas counties. The $40 million project is to be competed by the end of next year.

http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/blog/capitol_vision/2015/11/georgia-dot-starts-federal-funds-flowing-again.html

I guess "operational improvements" refers to that thing at the I-285 interchange.

[afguy]

GDOT broke ground yesterday on the GA 400 widening in Forsyth County. At the ground breaking ceremony, GDOT announced the widening would be extended 4.4 miles where a new interchange will be constructed at GA 369, it will be exit 18. Work on the interchange will begin 2017 and the widening will be finised by 2018.

After the groundbreaking ceremony, county leaders gathered at the Forsyth Conference Center to hear from DOT Commissioner Russell McMurry and local officials at a Transportation Summit sponsored by the Cumming-Forsyth Chamber of Commerce. At the summit, attendees got some good news: based on a new bidding procedure, instead of stopping at Bald Ridge Marina Road, the project would continue another 4.4 miles north to Browns Bridge Road, where a full interchange would be constructed as a new Exit 18.

In his talk, Commissioner McMurry detailed some of the projects that Georgia DOT will be building in Forsyth County over the next few years. You can see many of them at this link. They include widening major east-west arteries, including McGinniss Ferry Road, Highway 20 from Gwinnett County to Cherokee County, and Highway 369, Browns Bridge Road / Matt Highway. In addition to the work on Georgia 400, other north-south route improvements include on Highway 9 / Atlanta Highway and Highway 371 / Post Road.

Many of the projects announced at the summit have long been on the drawing board, but no date had been set because financing for the projects was uncertain, at best. Commissioner McMurry cited the enactment of House Bill 170 as the reason the additional funds became available, going as far as telling attendees that his presentation would have been totally different had the measure not passed. He also cited the county's willingness to use its own money to do some of the initial work on the projects.

One of the summit attendees was Tom Moreland, the former Georgia DOT commissioner, whose eponymous interchange is fondly known as Spaghetti Junction to Atlantans. After the event ended, he got into a conversation with a visitor who noted a similarity between the budding partnership between the DOT and Forsyth County, and a similar relationship between the DOT and Gwinnett County 20 or 25 years ago. "There was another similarity between then and now,"  Moreland said. "25 years ago, Gwinnett passed its first bond issue to fund transportation projects."

http://www.peachpundit.com/2015/11/05/forsyth-county-breaks-ground-on-ga-400-widening/

[Tom958]

I drove through here southbound on 75 last night, and all the exiting traffic is now on the direct connection ramp you see here. The loop is closed temporarily. The exit is now further upstream, and I noticed that the "1/2 MILE" on the BGS has been changed to 1/4.

On an unrelated topic: The I-75-US 41/76 interchange on the north side of Dalton is getting a new southbound 75 to northbound 41 ramp in addition to an upgrade of the existing southbound to south/eastbound loop ramp. I can't tell in the field if there'll be one exit from 75 or two, and I'm too lazy to look up the project concept report.

[afguy]

I'll be glad when GDOT is finished with all of the interchange upgrades along I-75.

[afguy]

I-285 has been named America's deadliest interstate...
http://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/45464976-story

[Tom958]

I'll be glad when GDOT is finished with all of the interchange upgrades along I-75.

I'll be glad dead when GDOT is finished with all of the interchange upgrades along I-75. 

I'd been curious as to whether the interchange I was just talking about would have a single southbound exit serving both ramps or an exit directly from the mainline to the loop ramp, and I just finished looking it up. Turns out that the project is more interesting than I'd thought:

This was the project concept approved in 2000, with loop ramps in both the northeast and southwest quadrants. The existing bridges carrying I-75 were to be retained; design exceptions were requested to fit six lanes of US 41-76 under them, though it was suggested that 41-76 might have to be lowered (!) to provide adequate overhead clearance for the widened bridges. Also, turn lanes to access the onramps were to be two laned and shorter than desired in order to fit them outboard of the bridges:



A modified concept was adopted in 2009. It defers the northbound loop ramp, but replaces the I-75 bridges (actually, it said that the loop ramp "would not be built," but it's apparent that more-than-incidental provision is being made for it-- note the extra bridge width on the northbound side). 41-76 would thus be a full-standard six lane boulevard, and the turn lanes for the onramps would be one lane as desired:

[jwolfer]

I-285 has been named America's deadliest interstate...
http://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/45464976-story

Number 6 is in my hometown... I-295 in Jacksonville, FL.. Shootings in the 1990s now in the top ten deadliest

[afguy]

HOT lane tolls on I-85 hit a new record of $12...
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/morning_call/2015/11/i-85-hot-lane-toll-hits-new-record.html

[afguy]

Safety improvements are coming to I-516. It's about time GDOT update this dangerous corridor, I would still prefer though that they widened and puts lights on it though.

WTOC's Jamie Ertle has been pressing the Georgia Department of Transportation for its plan on a solution, and she discovered that major improvements are coming to the infamous stretch of road.

Savannah-Chatham Metro Police are fed up with responding to deadly wrecks in the same location. They asked the state for a safety audit, and they delivered it. Two years later, I'm sure you stopped holding your breath, but get ready...the state now has federal approval, and that means funding 80 percent of the $6.2 million project.

It may sound like a lot, but that's the price of safety - plus - the state will be using a relatively new paving technique called "high friction surface treatment."

"Very small granular material that helps tires adhere to the roadway, and that will be on the curve there on 516 and Veterans Parkway,"  said Jill Nagel, Georgia Department of Transportation Communications Director.

Just last month, a 23-year-old died when he lost control in that spot. It's a part of the highway that seems to be too much for some to handle.

WTOC Jamie Ertle: "Does it go "bump bump bump?"

"No, no, it'll be smooth. You won't feel it, but your tires will,"  Nagel said.

You'll also feel it on your drive time while the construction is underway.

"It's going to be inconvenient, but that's the process we have to go through,"  said Nagel. "We ask individual citizens and motorists going down 516 to take responsibility. It's not always the roadway's fault for what happens on it."

We don't have a date yet on when the project will start; that's up to the contractor. But, the state has an estimated completion date of Fall 2016.

http://www.wtoc.com/story/30494915/safety-upgrades-coming-to-i-516?utm_source=site&utm_medium=meganav&utm_campaign=meganav

[afguy]

GDOT is FINALLY extending the Navigator system along I-20 West to Highway 5 in Douglasville. I got this email from them today regarding the project....

Thank you for contacting YOUR Georgia Department of Transportation. We received your email requesting information on the expansion of the Navigator system on I-20 west towards Douglasville. GDOT recently awarded a contract for this project and the Contractor has been issued a Notice to Proceed. The contract stipulates 500 days to completion (about a year and a half). The project will include installing fiber optic cable along I-20, and installing CCTV cameras, detection systems, and changeable message signs. Although most work will occur at night (especially parts that involve lane closures), you should start seeing visible evidence of progress very soon.