I-85 HOV lane work to start in Gwinnett

By Ariel Hart

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Gwinnett drivers, brace yourselves: In mid-September, the real work begins on I-85.

The state is putting electronic tolls on the HOV lane of I-85, from Chamblee-Tucker Road to Old Peachtree Road. By the middle of next month, crews are expected to start closing some lanes to get the physical work done, though lanes will close only overnight and on weekends, according to the state Department of Transportation. The project is supposed to be done by July 31.

Workers were already on the job Wednesday off the highway shoulders, surveying and double-checking measurements. DOT awarded the $11.7 million contract for physical work on the highway to World Fiber Technologies of Alpharetta.

Work on less visible parts of the project, like the toll sensors drivers will use, has been under way over the past year.

“We are excited to begin,” said David Spear, a spokesman for the DOT. Spear said the project would provide data that would help in expanding such toll lanes across metro Atlanta. “This is just a first step, but a very big step,” he said.

The toll amount will rise and fall with congestion. It is not designed to make money for the state, but rather, to stay expensive enough that traffic volume in the HOT lane stays low and flows freely.

Once the high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes are complete, two-person carpools will no longer be able to use them for free. Instead, they and solo drivers will have to pay a toll if they want in. At the most congested time of day, it may cost about 90 cents per mile in the 15-mile corridor. Three-person carpools and transit vehicles could still use the lane for free.

The project includes an expansion of commuter buses and park-and-ride lots costing more than $100 million, which will partly be paid for by a federal grant for the HOT lane project.