HENRY COUNTY, Ga. — Brand new express lanes are now open on I-75 through the south metro.
The two reversible toll lanes should ease congestion, especially during the commute.
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There is a grace period starting Saturday when these lanes open, but drivers will need a Peach Pass to get on at the only dedicated on and off ramp, or at other ramps that let you slip into the lanes along the full 12 miles.
The Georgia Department of Transportation opened the gates, flipped the signs and let drivers start using the I-75 south metro express lanes on Saturday morning.
The two brand-new toll lanes sit right in the median between the normal three northbound and three southbound lanes.
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"So we're adding about 60 percent additional capacity," Chris Tomlinson, with the State Road and Tollway
Authority, said. "All at once. So it's exciting."
According to the head of the State Road and Tollway Authority, the toll goes up and down based on how many people use the lanes.
The price could be as low as 50 cents, but could get up to more than $10 for the full trip during peak congestion.
The lanes run from near Locust Grove on the south to just past the I-675 split on the north and will flow towards the city in the morning, then flip to southbound in the afternoons, which could cause confusion at first.
"It's new entrances, new signs, so people need some time to get used to it," commuter
Melinda Carlton said.
But one driver thinks it could cut an hour from his drive home every day.
“It’s very bad,” commuter Rory Evans said. “You can plan ahead and you’re late to wherever you’re going, so it’s definitely bad.”
This weekend (and every weekend), the lanes will only run north through the Monday morning rush hour.
Then, around lunch time, they’ll be closed for a couple hours, cleared, then reversed.
Cox Media Group
