A hurdle in moving the Ga. 400/I-285 interchange project forward was cleared this week, bringing the city a step closer to congestion relief for more than 400,000 motorists who use the busy interchange each day.
Gov. Nathan Deal announced Tuesday that the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) approved the Atlanta Transportation Improvement Plan, which includes funding for the project. The FHWA also determined the plan met federal air quality regulations.
“This decision is good news for Georgia, and especially the metro region,” Deal said in a press release. “Now that our funding plan has been approved, we can begin construction on a project that will certainly provide important economic and quality of life benefits for many years to come.”
The improvements to the interchange are expected to cost about $1.06 billion, which would make it the most expensive highway project in state history. The mammoth project will ultimately resemble Spaghetti Junction, with flyover ramps and bridges, new collector-distributor lanes and other facilities to aid east-west travel on along I-285 and north-south travel along Ga. 400.
On I-285, the proposed project would stretch from west of Roswell Road to east of Ashford Dunwoody Road, a distance of approximately 4.3 miles. On Ga. 400, the proposed project would begin just south of the Glenridge Connector and extend north to the Hammond Drive interchange area. The total length of the proposed improvements on Ga. 400 is about 1.2 miles.
Construction would start sometime in 2016 and it would be expected to be open to traffic in 2019.
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