The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) broke ground Sept. 17 on an $834 million project that will create 30 miles of dedicated managed toll lanes on I-75 and I-575 in Cobb and Cherokee counties. Construction will commence at four separate locations next month.
GDOT is teaming up with Northwest Express Roadbuilders in a public-private partnership (P3) on the Northwest Corridor express lanes project. I-75 and I-575 are two of the state’s busiest roadways, and the department hopes to improve traffic flow in the Atlanta metro region. A pair of reversible lanes will be implemented just west of I-75 between I-285 and I-575, directing traffic south in the morning and north in the evening. Single reversible lanes will be installed on I-75 and I-575 north of where the two roadways meet and diverge.
Thanks to another partnership with the State Road and Tollway Authority, the Northwest Corridor lanes will utilize the Peach Pass transponder system already in place. Six new I-75 exits will provide access to the toll lanes, as well as three slip-ramp access points.
Plans for further tolling are already in the works, including lanes on I-75 south of I-675 and the northern end of I-285.
Northwest Corridor lanes should be open to traffic by 2018.
