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Tuesday, May 2, 2006
Wanted: New commute route
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Ga. 316 interchange at I-85 looks like an L.A. freeway is on the horizon.
The cause: Pre-construction prep work by the Department of Transportation for the 13 bridges due at this Great Divide. (They say by 2008, but you know that means 2009.)
So let’s just call it like it is: The interchange is bald. No trees. No shrubs. No vegetation. Just mounds of dirt and occasional humps of road kill, thanks to the $147 million extinction of wildlife.
The 316 commute westbound ain’t so great these days. It means 40 minutes spent in a reduced-speed zone dominated by Gwinnett County police while cars merge into the one lane left leading to I-85. This constant threat of a double-fine speeding ticket is like living “Cops: Episode 316” morning, noon and night.
At least, now that the DOT has scalped the land like a well-meaning barber working overtime, commuters have new scenic views at the Great Divide.
On a clear day you can see well enough to pick out your dream car from the Gwinnett Place BMW dealership while sitting in rush hour on the highway — say for instance, the $81,000 M5.
Or choose a $170,000 newly built townhouse facing Breckinridge Boulevard, heretofore hidden by lush foliage, but now with perfect backyard barbecue views of eight lanes of I-85.
Sadly, 316 and I have reached the end of the road. I just can’t do bald, boring and slow. (Though this is precisely what those dating sites match me with.)
I’ve already tried taking Lawrenceville Highway through Lilburn (land of a thousand school zones). I’ve also looped around Old Norcross Road (methinks this is just like I-285). I’ve also ridden Sugarloaf Parkway from the 316 side to the I-85 side. But you know that already because hundreds of you were on the road, too, the day I made that drive.
For someone heading to Atlanta, is there no sane highway left for leaving Lawrenceville to drive?
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