On Friday, two new ramps opened at Ga. 400 and Hammond Drive in Sandy Springs, giving Ga. 400 drivers their first new access point in the Atlanta region since 1993, according to the Perimeter Community Improvement Districts.
The ramps provide a northbound entrance to and a southbound exit from Ga. 400.
The ramps are intended to help drivers access jobs and shops in the booming area, which includes Perimeter Mall. The neighborhood has exploded in growth since Ga. 400 was extended inside I-285 in 1993.
Aside from providing much-needed congestion relief, the new interchange will probably prompt new businesses to cluster around it, said Yvonne Williams, president of the Perimeter CIDs.
“This is a huge project,” she said. "Ga. 400 is a major congested corridor. There’s no other gateway in the Perimeter at Ga. 400, and this relieves that traffic."
At first, traffic was cautious as crews removed the orange traffic barrels midday that had blocked access during construction. But not for long, according to the state Department of Transportation, which built the project.
The ramps are part of a larger $17 million project that went out to bid in 2008, and includes a bridge over Ga. 400 that was widened from four lanes to nine lanes, according to the districts.
The project shows the general heft of community improvement districts, self-taxing business districts that raise money to jump-start projects they believe have languished. The Perimeter CIDs paid $6.2 million to help the state engineer and build the project, according to David Purcell, the organization's chief operating officer.
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