Georgia

[lordsutch]

SRTA and GDOT showed off examples of the barriers that will be used on the reversible I-75 South express lanes to the media. The article says that they're planning on a late January opening, which is consistent with recent progress - I drove through the construction zone today and it looks like the main items remaining are a final layer of asphalt, striping, and ground-level signage.

Edit: they've also announced testing of the dynamic pricing signs and travel time information should begin shortly.

[afguy]

Chatham County commissioners approved funds for a redesign of the Dean Forest/I-16 interchange. The plan is to convert it to a DDI. Commissioners also want to push for GDOT to extend the widening of I-16 to at least Pooler Parkway if not all the way to Pembroke...

The county commission voted unanimously Friday to pay Savannah-based McGee Partners $541,165 to develop plans and an approved environmental document for the work on the State Route 307 exit, which will include an entirely new overpass and additional ramp space, according to County Engineer Leon Davenport.

Davenport said the current concept for the project is to install a diverging diamond interchange, much like what's being constructed now at Interstate 95 and Ga. 21.

According to county documents, the plans will be carried out in conjunction with the Georgia Department of Transportation's I-16 widening project. Once the plans are complete, the state department will be responsible for taking the project from there – acquisition of rights-of-way, costs to relocate utilities and construction.

DOT spokeswoman Jill Nagel said Friday the plan is to award the contract for the project along with the larger widening project in the summer of 2018. She said construction, which includes widening of I-16 to three lanes from I-95 to Interstate 516 and improvements to the I-95/I-16 interchange, is expected to begin in 2019. Completion is anticipated by 2021.

"The new travel lane will be on the inside with a concrete barrier wall, and that's also in conjunction with the I-95, I-16 interchange improvements,"  Nagel said. "We will have two flyovers, one on 1-95 southbound going onto I-16 eastbound, and one from I-16 westbound going to I-95 southbound. It's a big project. It's still in pre-construction. They are doing some noise studies right there at I-16 and 95 to see if it warrants any kind of sound barrier walls, anything like that."

She added that the project will maintain the interstate's use as a hurricane evacuation route. The improvements will still allow for contraflow.

Although she didn't have an estimate on the costs for the new Dean Forest Road overpass, Nagel said the cost for the widening on I-16 and the new interchange is estimated to be between $150 million and $200 million. The project will be design-build, she said, which means the selected contractor will do design, engineering and pre-construction services for the project, in addition to the construction. This method, Davenport told the commission, will move the project along more quickly than the traditional method.

"It's just really needed at this time, the widening, due to traffic counts,"  Nagel said.

In 2015, she said, the average daily traffic along this area of I-16 was 58,840. By the time the improvements are finished, DOT is expecting that to increase to 69,180. The widening is designed to hold a capacity of 96,820 average daily trips, which is expected to be adequate though the year 2040.

"We're looking forward, "  she said. "Once the Savannah River is deepened and these big sea vessels come in, we're going to have big trucks."

While he lauded the project Friday, west Chatham Commissioner Dean Kicklighter said he intends to work with Chairman Al Scott to push for widening the interstate farther. Davenport said plans may be amended to expand the interstate to three lanes as far as Pooler Parkway, but Kicklighter suggested they take it all the way to Pembroke.

Commissioner Helen Stone, a member of the board of directors for Chatham Area Transit, suggested that plans provide for an HOV or bus lane in the event that the transit system becomes a regional system.

http://savannahnow.com/news/2016-11-19/chatham-oks-500k-new-dean-forest-i-16-overpass-plan

[J N Winkler]

I have a piece of not-great news as regards construction plan availability from GDOT.

For almost three years now, I have had a crawler-downloader that goes through the project listings in GDOT's TransPI and marks up for download any project that has signing (sheets in GDOT plan sheet groups 26 and 27) and which I have not previously downloaded (the PI number is cross-checked against a list of previously downloaded projects).  I wrote the first version of this batch file in January 2014 and in that time it has helped me pull in almost 2700 sheets' worth of pattern-accurate sign elevations and sign panel details.

Now, sometime in the last month (last successful run of the crawler-downloader was on October 9), GDOT has taken away TransPI and replaced it with GeoPI.  GeoPI has similar search functionality, but the project pages it loads do not link to plan sheet listings.  I have checked a few individual plan sheet URLs and they are still on the server, but there now seems to be no way to harvest links.  I don't know if link pages will be added in the future, or otherwise be made accessible.

[Tom958]

A while back afguy posted about a project to add a halfassed CD road, separated by paint and vertical delineators rather than a barrier, to I-20 eastbound between Fulton Industrial and 285. Today I went to see if anything whatever happened with that, and... prepare to facepalm.

Upward-pointing arrows. What section of the MUTCD are they in? that extra-fat font with the letters compressed together is seen intermittently across the state, but here they did it consistently. Also note that the cardinal direction is aligned with the route numerals instead of being near the top of the shield as usual.



There's now a different line type for the exit lane. Also, the noise barriers are protected by a W beam guardrail with closely-spaced posts due to inadequate deflection distance, I guess because they expect to be widening this within a decade and demolishing the usual CS barrier base would be a pain.



A solid stripe now,and a solidly heinous pair of up arrows. The single exit tab with two numbers suggests a single exit that branches. We'll see. The fifth lane is new, added by this project-- I'm surprised by how wide the right shoulder still is. Oh: according to Streetview, the paving and some of the signs were done after April but by August of this year.



Double white lines. the ramps are considered to be on a separate roadway now.



Having two lanes for the 285 south movement is a relic of FHWA guidance from a long time ago that there should (almost) always be one more lane leaving a split than entering. The extra lane ends before the ramp gets to 285.



No exit only arrow, implying that there's a default lane for straight-ahead traffic. Whatever

[OracleUsr]

Okay, what is the GDOT smoking?  They had some terrific renovated signs and now this...in the Atlanta metro to boot

[lordsutch]

Now, sometime in the last month (last successful run of the crawler-downloader was on October 9), GDOT has taken away TransPI and replaced it with GeoPI.  GeoPI has similar search functionality, but the project pages it loads do not link to plan sheet listings.  I have checked a few individual plan sheet URLs and they are still on the server, but there now seems to be no way to harvest links.  I don't know if link pages will be added in the future, or otherwise be made accessible.

The plan sheets are now hiding under the "Related Documents" link when you select a project in GeoPI.

[xcellntbuy]

Despite the bad arrows and the compressed signage, it looks like the road surface has been repaved recently.  The whole Interstate 20 west of Atlanta is (or was) not in good shape.

[J N Winkler]

The plan sheets are now hiding under the "Related Documents" link when you select a project in GeoPI.

Many thanks for this--I have now tracked down that search function and am playing with it to see if I can get it to give me a listing of GDOT projects that have had construction plans added recently where said plans include signing.

[VTGoose]

Drove the new section of the Fall Line Freeway today; it is very lacking in reassurance signage but it appears the plan was/is to sign it as an extension of GA 243 from a couple of shields installed southbound (northbound they're all missing). The speed limit signs are 55 mph, as in the design plans. Construction continues on widening GA 24 from there to Sandersville.

It was too dark when I got back to Gray to see how the bypass construction was going exactly but GA 18 west seems to now be diverted onto the new roadway at the western end.

Because of an unavoidable appointment on Wednesday morning, we didn't get on the road to Florida from Southwest Virginia until about 1 p.m. The plan was to drive partway and finish the trip on Thursday. I already knew I wanted to avoid the I-26/I-95/I-4 route to get from Columbia to Tampa, since I expected it would be a zoo the day before Thanksgiving. We had tried the "direct" route coming north after Christmas (U.S. 129/U.S. 220/U.S. 1 from Jasper to Augusta) but it was less than stellar (especially in the dark).

The Fall Line Expressway seemed to be the best solution. Even though it took us a bit to the west to reach Macon, it would then provide a straight shot down I-75. So far, it has somewhat worked -- although the travel time can't be compared yet.

The traffic started on I-77 at the Fancy Gap exit and didn't let up until Augusta. Charlotte was even more ridiculous than usual, with slow going from Troutman to the I-485 split. The beltway was moving along, but there was a long backup to get on I-85 west. Traffic continued to be heavy all the way to Columbia, although in a lot of places it was moving well. The problems came from vehicle operators (they weren't really "drivers") who hung out in the left lane doing at or just under the speed limit. They were there due to the number of vehicle operators in the right lane who were well under the speed limit.

Heading west on I-20 out of Columbia was still in traffic, but it gradually thinned out. After a late meal stop, it was on to wrap up the first leg of the trip. Getting to U.S. 1 of I-520 was pretty easy and after several miles of commercial strip and traffic lights, traffic pretty much disappeared. The speed limit finally went from 55 to 65 and went back and forth between those limits all the way to Macon.

Even with the latest map loaded in the Garmin GPS, it was confused about the route from Augusta to Macon. It wanted to go further west on I-20 before turning south. I plugged in the route in Google maps on my phone and it handled the routing, although in small chunks die to some of the road relocations from construction and the multiple route number changes. It took about 2 hours to get across the countryside.

The right turn onto Ga. 88 outside of Wrens (the place needs a bypass) was a right-angle turn (a slip ramp would be a nice transition). I didn't see any signs in the dark identifying this as the Fall Line Expressway (nor did I see any anywhere along the route). Even more interesting is that the latest state road map doesn't even show any sign of the highway existing -- no new roads or even dashed lines to show new construction.

There are two traffic lights on the highway (once in Macon it doesn't really count)-- one at Linton Road in Sandersville adjacent to a middle school and one at Deepstep Road adjacent to the Oconee Fall Line Technical College. There is an at-grade railroad crossing just east of that intersection, also.

From Sandersville, there is 15 miles of two-lane road pretty much still on the original alignment of Ga. 24. In the dark, it looked like most of the work was done on the westbound lanes except for finishing work in places (guardrail, shoulder finishing, lines and reflectors, etc.). The road went back to four lanes divided at Ga. 540. It eventually dropped to a four-lane highway as it approached Macon, but getting on I-16 was pretty seamless.

Bruce in Blacksburg

[sparker]

The road went back to four lanes divided at Ga. 540. It eventually dropped to a four-lane highway as it approached Macon, but getting on I-16 was pretty seamless.

Bruce in Blacksburg

Since the GRIP number for the Fall Line is 540, it's interesting that Bruce cited that number -- have they actually signed the new section of the expressway as that number (and are they intending to extend such signage once the route is fully & functionally completed as an expressway)?  If so, it'll join 515 & 520 in the "actually signed as such" GRIP family.  It would be useful for the through-traffic purposes that the facility is intended to enhance if a single number would be applied from Macon to Augusta; 540 would certainly do!

[Tomahawkin]

Has anyone seen the area where the express toll lanes end at the new Braves stadium? For the love of god why did they make those bridges carry a 1 lane capacity? If an accident happens it creates more backup if not shutting down the elevated sections. Also they have done nothing to widen the main lanes of IH-285 through the Cobb Cloverleaf. Looks like another job by G-Dot where they are putting a band aid on a bullet wound

[CtrlAltDel]

The problems came from vehicle operators (they weren't really "drivers") who hung out in the left lane doing at or just under the speed limit. They were there due to the number of vehicle operators in the right lane who were well under the speed limit.

"Vehicle operator" is just a fancy word for driver. What you want is (courtesy of trucker slang) "steering wheel holder."

Past that, it seems like an interesting trip. Let me know if you would recommend that route. It might be the way I take to visit my grandmother, who also lives in the Tampa Bay area.

[dfwmapper]

The problems came from vehicle operators (they weren't really "drivers") who hung out in the left lane doing at or just under the speed limit. They were there due to the number of vehicle operators in the right lane who were well under the speed limit.

"Vehicle operator" is just a fancy word for driver. What you want is (courtesy of trucker slang) "steering wheel holder."

"Steering wheel holder" is giving them too much credit. How do you expect them to hold the wheel with a cell phone in one hand and a coffee/soda/sandwich in the other?

[afguy]

It looks like Chatham County commissioners have convinced GDOT to extend the I-16 widening. Unfortunately, it won't happen until after 2030....
http://www.thempc.org/docs/lit/CoreMpo/Plans/TotalMobility/2016/Nov/Amendment.pdf

[VTGoose]

The problems came from vehicle operators (they weren't really "drivers") who hung out in the left lane doing at or just under the speed limit. They were there due to the number of vehicle operators in the right lane who were well under the speed limit.

"Vehicle operator" is just a fancy word for driver. What you want is (courtesy of trucker slang) "steering wheel holder."

I equate "vehicle operator" with "appliance operator" -- it doesn't take any skill or much knowledge to stick something in a microwave oven and push a couple of buttons or wash a load of clothes in a standard washing machine. I consider "driver" and "driving" to require some skill and ability to function on the road, whether it is an open interstate or city traffic. A driver is aware of what is ahead and behind and is able to adjust in advance. But I do like "steering wheel holder."

Past that, it seems like an interesting trip. Let me know if you would recommend that route. It might be the way I take to visit my grandmother, who also lives in the Tampa Bay area.

I can now say I've tried this route and I still believe that I-77 (or a good four-lane highway with town bypasses) needs to be extended south from Columbia or Augusta to Gainesville. Timewise, it wasn't much different than I-26/I-95/west somehow/I-75 to get to Tampa (although I still don't have a good measure -- we hit the incoming weather front just south of Macon and drove for three hours in pouring rain and darkness; we threw in the towel and spend the night in Augusta). Mileage is longer though and the lack of an easy transition from interstate to freeway at either end is a problem. While most of the Fall Line Expressway is nice four-lane highway, getting to it from I-16 is slow going, as is part of the way from Augusta and through Wrens. One still has to know where to go to find the expressway, since there is NO signage that indicates that the route exists. Once along it from the west there are route signs for Ga. 540, but they peter out along the way. There was a message board near Sandersville (where it goes from four-lane to shared two-lanes) that said "Bypass open 12/1/16" (missed it by a day) but it looks like it will only be the section from there to where traffic shifts from the westbound side to the eastbound (older in places) section. There was still equipment on the new roadway and it appeared there is still more work to be done in places.

While the road is close to interstate standards as far as lanes and grade, there is no way this highway could be converted/tagged as an Interstate highway -- there are too many driveways and at-grade road crossings to convert to interchanges. But not every highway needs that red/white/blue shield to be a good route.

If anyone has some cash to buy land, look along this highway. It reminds me of U.S. 19 through West Virginia, which went from a two-lane highway through pretty much nowhere to a four-lane highway that fed a lot of commercial growth in Summersville and Fayetteville. When we first started using this to shortcut from Beckley to I-79, about the only place to stop along the way was the Dairy Queen in Summersville. We had to make a stop on this trip (my wife was not feeling well) and it was a major diversion into Sandersville and back to the highway because there just isn't anything along the road yet. Placed right, a Sheetz (or equivalent) would do a bang-up business in food and fuel.

Next trip south will probably be around Christmas and it will probably be back to the old all-interstate route.

Bruce in Blacksburg

[afguy]

Here are some of the preliminary plans for improvements to the SR 10 Loop/Atlanta Highway interchange...
A discription of the improvements..

This project consist of improvements to the SR 10 Loop/Atlanta Highway interchange in Athens. This project also includes widening Atlanta Highway (SR10/US 78) in the interchange vicinity for a total of 0.80 miles.

SR 10 Loop@SR 10/Jennings Mill Rd Realignment-Athens,GA by brandon walker, on Flickr

SR 10 Loop@SR 10/Jennings Mill Rd Realignment-Athens,GA by brandon walker, on Flickr

[Gnutella]

Here are some of the preliminary plans for improvements to the SR 10 Loop/Atlanta Highway interchange...
A discription of the improvements..

This project consist of improvements to the SR 10 Loop/Atlanta Highway interchange in Athens. This project also includes widening Atlanta Highway (SR10/US 78) in the interchange vicinity for a total of 0.80 miles.

SR 10 Loop@SR 10/Jennings Mill Rd Realignment-Athens,GA by brandon walker, on Flickr

SR 10 Loop@SR 10/Jennings Mill Rd Realignment-Athens,GA by brandon walker, on Flickr

YAAAAASSSSSS!!!!! 

I fucking hate this interchange. If I want to turn from Atlanta highway westbound onto the "outer" Athens Perimeter (counterclockwise), there's a very short left-turn lane that backs up onto the overpass anytime the sun is up, creating an artificial bottleneck. It's not a very timely signal either; most of the time I have to wait at it for more than three minutes. Though more expensive, I prefer the plan to build a second loop ramp from Atlanta highway westbound to the outer Perimeter. That way, all traffic that wants to access the Perimeter in either direction stays to the right, and since the Huntington Road and Jennings Mill Road intersections immediately on both sides of the interchange don't have much left-turning traffic in either direction, the bottleneck would be eliminated.

I'm also hoping that work begins on reconfiguring the Oconee Street/Lexington Road interchange soon, so westbound Lexington Road traffic doesn't have three left turns in a quarter of a mile. The loop on-ramp to the outer Perimeter makes everything unnecessarily complicated, because most of the traffic accessing it comes from Lexington Road westbound, which involves a left-turn lane that's no more than 100' long because of the Barnett Shoals Road intersection. Even one 18-wheeler turning left onto the outer Perimeter on-ramp produces a backup of vehicles into that intersection, creating an artificial bottleneck. And if you're heading to downtown Athens or the inner Perimeter on-ramp, you'll have to get in the right lane past Winterville Road if you want to make time, because the left lane is often slammed with vehicles that want to access either Barnett Shoals Road or the outer Perimeter.

Reconfiguring the outer Perimeter on-ramp as a right turn for westbound Lexington Road traffic not only eliminates the bottleneck induced by all the left turns in a short distance, but it also eliminates the double-left turn from Barnett Shoals Road, replacing it with a straight shot. And since there's not much traffic from eastbound Lexington Road to the outer Perimeter, a left turn is acceptable for that movement.

Another movement I'd like to see reconfigured is from the outer Perimeter off-ramp to Barnett Shoals Road. As it is right now, traffic heading to Barnett Shoals Road from the outer Perimeter gets dumped onto Lexington Road eastbound for 100' (the same segment as the left-turn lane to the outer Perimeter from westbound Lexington Road), and is stuck waiting at the traffic signal if a vehicle in the right lane wants to go straight. My solution for this would be a non-stop traffic lane from the outer Perimeter off-ramp to Barnett Shoals Road that stays separate from Lexington Road eastbound and doesn't have to stop at the traffic signal. Take a look at the non-stop movement to Georgia Square Mall from the outer Perimeter off-ramp that stays separate from Atlanta Highway westbound as an example of what I have in mind.

After these problems are solved, GDOT can reconfigure the Athens Perimeter interchanges with GA 316 and U.S. 29. Athens has begun to outgrow its highway infrastructure.

[afguy]

I wish DeRenne was built as a limited access freeway to begin with. Savannah really needs better east-west connections...

The five-phase development process was initiated in 2008. Right now, it's in phase three - preliminary design and environmental review. The project focuses on making improvements between I-516 and the Truman Parkway, by adding a bypass. Now, according to the city, construction bids would begin in 2021. Around that same time, nearly 80 homes and businesses would be bought out to redevelop the land they currently sit on.

"There are about 50 businesses that will have to cut back or leave. We're going to lose about 500 employees in the corridor because of the bypass," said Chris Blaine, Owner, Barnett Educational Supplies.

"For businesses, this project is going to be a big, big relief because traffic is going to basically move 20,000 cars away from DeRenne Avenue, moving to the bypass," said Michael Weiner, Traffic Engineering Director, City of Savannah.

http://www.wtoc.com/story/34002413/project-derenne-meeting-sparks-heated-debate

[emory]

I wish DeRenne was built as a limited access freeway to begin with. Savannah really needs better east-west connections...

The five-phase development process was initiated in 2008. Right now, it's in phase three - preliminary design and environmental review. The project focuses on making improvements between I-516 and the Truman Parkway, by adding a bypass. Now, according to the city, construction bids would begin in 2021. Around that same time, nearly 80 homes and businesses would be bought out to redevelop the land they currently sit on.

"There are about 50 businesses that will have to cut back or leave. We're going to lose about 500 employees in the corridor because of the bypass," said Chris Blaine, Owner, Barnett Educational Supplies.

"For businesses, this project is going to be a big, big relief because traffic is going to basically move 20,000 cars away from DeRenne Avenue, moving to the bypass," said Michael Weiner, Traffic Engineering Director, City of Savannah.

http://www.wtoc.com/story/34002413/project-derenne-meeting-sparks-heated-debate

I lived in Savannah for 4 years and I-516 is easily the worst interstate I've ever driven. Not only is it confusing as fuck because all the Georgia DOT relinquishments forced a bunch of routes to cosign on its short length, peaking at five not counting SR 421, but it's narrow with sharp turns and can get congested on both ends since both sides end on local roads. And despite being an interstate all the way, the last half a mile on the east end is not built to freeway standards, featuring an at-grade intersection at Mildred Street, a right turn lane, and a designated School Zone. Driving south on Abercorn heading to DeRenne in rush hour was always a pain because drivers would left turn on DeRenne to access I-516 from Abercorn going north, and nobody gave a shit that they were blocking the intersection resulting in an unbreakable line of left-turning traffic.

[afguy]

Looking through the GDOT files, I see that the I-185/Buena Vista Road Interchange will be rebuilt as a DDI. I personally think this will be a good project for that interchange. The traffic there can be quite heavy during afternoon rush hour.
I-185/Buena Vista Road Interchange DDI-Columbus,GA by brandon walker, on Flickr

The project will reconstruct the interchange of I‐185 and Buena Vista Road by replacing the existing bridge. The existing bridge at the interchange will be replaced with a wider bridge and modified to a DDI. New improvements along Buena Vista Road will include 4 lanes with a raised median.  Sidewalk (5' ‐ on the south side) and multi‐use path (10' ‐ on the north side) will also be constructed along Buena Vista Road at the approaches to the bridge over I‐185 and be provided in the center median area of the DDI. The proposed project will begin at the intersection of Buena Vista Road @ Steam Mill Road and end at the intersection of Buena Vista Road @ Rosewood Drive, a total of 1.04 miles.

[lordsutch]

The Gray bypass opened today, six months ahead of the original schedule. It connects US 129/GA 11/GA 22 west of Gray to GA 22 east of Gray around the north side.

Also, an Atlanta TV station has posted a video of a ride along the I-75 South express lane project. From my drive through the project yesterday it looks like almost everything is done except perhaps some repaving on the main lanes and some ground-level signage; a crew was out putting reference markers on the new NaviGAtor camera poles. Nonetheless they're still claiming a "late January" opening date.

[afguy]

Work begins next month on the I-16/I-75 interchange rebuild...
http://www.macon.com/news/local/article121062928.html

[afguy]

Looking through the GDOT files, I found the concept report for the improvements to the I-20/US 221/SR 47 Interchange. GDOT will replace the existing bridge with a wider one that will support a future 4-lane expansion of US 221. The reasoning behind wanting the bridge this wide is because the county sees US 221 as the future SR 388 of Western Columbia County. Roundabouts will also be placed at the intersections of the I-20/US 221/SR 47 exit/entrance ramps. Lighting will also be placed at the roundabouts. According to the concept report the project will be let in June 2018.

I-20/U.S. 221/SR 47 Interchange Rebuild-Columbia County by brandon walker, on Flickr

Concept report:https://gtas.dot.ga.gov/0011373/Concept%20Report/0011373_CR_TIA_AUG2016.pdf

[D-Dey65]

Hey, what's up with the overlap with GA 92 and 138 between Fairburn and Union City? They have that needless thing that ends at a former segment of GA 92 north of Fairburn that a lot of Wikipedia articles say is still part of Route 92. GDOT should either move the old GA 92 back or end GA 138 at the northeast end of the US 29/GA 92 multiplex.

 

[afguy]

I was out and about today and took some photos of I-20 and I-285...
Interstate 20 by brandon walker, on Flickr

Interstate 285 by brandon walker, on Flickr

Interstate 285 by brandon walker, on Flickr

Interstate 285 by brandon walker, on Flickr

Interstate 285 by brandon walker, on Flickr

Interstate 285 by brandon walker, on Flickr

Interstate 20 by brandon walker, on Flickr

Interstate 20 by brandon walker, on Flickr

Interstate 20 by brandon walker, on Flickr

Interstate 20 by brandon walker, on Flickr

Interstate 20 by brandon walker, on Flickr

Interstate 285 by brandon walker, on Flickr

Interstate 285 by brandon walker, on Flickr