Over the past month, commuters may have noticed workers getting rid of trees from the side of Ga. 400 and wondered what was going on.
The answer may be surprising to some, as the seemingly small-scale tree removal is part of a massive project that will transform busy metro Atlanta roads.
The four-year, $800 million reconstruction of the interchange at the top of the Perimeter in the Dunwoody-Sandy Springs area is aptly called Transform 285/400.
The project will require occasional lane closures, including some that will start this weekend.
North Perimeter Contractors, the private-sector partner of the Georgia Department of Transportation, began working on the side of Ga. 400 from the Mount Vernon Road bridge to Abernathy Road in February.
The reconstruction includes new lanes, a diverging diamond interchange, flyover ramps and an extension of the PATH 400 trail system. It affects 4.3 miles of I-285 from west of Roswell Road to east of Ashford Dunwoody Road, and 6.2 miles of Ga. 400 from the Glenridge Connector to Spalding Drive.
Governor Deal and other leaders broke ground on the project in November, and construction should be finished in 2020.
The completed project is expected to save commuters who travel the corridor eight hours per year, according to a November press release.
The total project budget, using a public-private partnership model, includes funding from Perimeter Community Improvement Districts (CIDs), the PATH Foundation, Sandy Springs and North Perimeter Contractors.