State authorities planned to briefly block all northbound lanes of I-75 in Bartow County at 11 a.m. Monday for the ceremonial kickoff of "Operation Rolling Thunder," a 90-day enforcement effort aimed at aggressive drivers.

One hundred patrol cars were expected to take part in the late-morning rolling roadblock on I-75 from the Red Top Mountain exit north to the Cartersville Main Street exit.

The newly-formed "Thunder Task Force" will target high-risk drivers this summer in Bartow and Paulding counties.

The task force was set up to combat dangerous driving in communities with a high incidence of traffic fatalities.

Paulding County, with 27 traffic deaths in 2007 and 10 so far this year, ranks 7th among Georgia counties for highway fatalities, according to the Governor's Office of Highway Safety, which is coordinating the task force. Bartow, with 31 fatalities last year and five so far this year, ranks 9th.

The Georgia State Patrol, Georgia Motor Carrier Compliance Division and the Paulding and Bartow County Sheriff's offices and other law enforcement agencies are participating, according to a news release issued Sunday.

The three-month crackdown, which also calls for day and night traffic stops on interstates and local state highways for safety belt and sobriety checks, targets what officials call the "Bartow-Paulding High-Crash Corridor."

During its first 90-day mobilization last year, Operation Rolling Thunder reduced traffic fatalities in the Savannah area by 58 percent, according to the Governor's Office of Highway Safety.