Those giant bridge supports rising next to your morning commute on I-75 and I-575 in Cobb and Cherokee will carry express toll lanes that will enable paying customers to soar above rush hour.
The 30-mile project will also be reversible: call it "inbound, shutdown, outbound."
That's right: the lanes will carry commuters toward downtown in the morning. Then they'll close for several hours. Then they'll reopen in the afternoon, heading in the other direction.
How will the state Department of Transportation make sure everybody's going the same way? A system of gates will restrict or permit access to the lanes depending on the time of day. Electronic signs on the freeway will let you know whether the lanes are open or closed. And a HERO unit will "sweep" the full 30-mile length of the lanes, looking for errant drivers and debris, before the lanes reopen.
The so-called Northwest Corridor initiative is one of the most expensive road projects in state history. For a full rundown, see staff writer Andria Simmons' report at MyAJC.com.
