FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — Georgia is moving ahead with plans to build tolled express lanes along Georgia 400.
The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) is looking at plans from two firms to add the lanes in Fulton and Forsyth counties, extending along a 16-mile stretch of the highway.
Two lanes in each direction will run from the North Springs MARTA station to McGinnis Ferry Road, and one lane in each direction will run from McGinnis Ferry to just north of McFarland Parkway.
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GDOT plans to select a contractor by this fall, with construction expected to begin by the end of 2025.
The lanes are projected to be open by 2031, but that could change, GDOT spokesperson Natalie Dale said.
“When motorists choose to use that express lane system, it frees up space in the managed lanes, so you sort of get a residual benefit for all users in the corridors,” she told Channel 2′s Bryan Mims.
Metro Atlanta already has 67 miles of tolled express lanes on I-85, 1-75, and I-575.
The state plans to eventually have 120 miles of express lanes, not only on Georgia 400 but along the northern half of I-285, a distance of about 40 miles.
The state is letting a private company set tolls and collect revenue in exchange for helping pay for the project, expected to run in the billions of dollars.
GDOT has completed one project to make way for the express lanes – replacing the Kimball Bridge Road bridge in Alpharetta.
“Anyone who commutes through this corridor or lives up in Forsyth and beyond, they know what sitting in traffic is like on Georgia 400, and this is a viable option because it is a choice,” Dale said.
GDOT’s first attempt to build toll lanes on Ga. 400 was sidelined three years ago.
That’s because the state transportation board rejected the proposal, which exceeded a $1.7 billion budget for the project.
Driver Corey Hampton welcomes the additional lanes.
“I think it would add value,” he said. “I think the more lanes we have, the easier the traffic would be.”
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Shane Nasrallah agrees.
“Definitely it would help, because any time it gets packed up, it’s nice to be able to jump into an express lane and get past it all,” he said.
But Brian Hummel thinks tolled express lanes are not the way to go.
“I think it stinks,” he said. “I think the public paid for the roads, now you’re letting the rich people get a faster way downtown (Atlanta). To me, we pay enough taxes to take care of our roads, and they’re all public anyway.
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