For the last couple of weeks I have been bombarded by calls in the traffic center from drivers wanting to know why there were so many Georgia State Patrol units on Interstate 75.
The answer is simple. To make your commute easier.
A new program started on Dec. 1 that assigned 37 troopers to the I-75 corridor in Cobb County to assist the local jurisdictions in helping clear crashes out of the road and improve traffic flow.
“In March of 2011 the DOT approached us about putting troopers in identified crash corridors in the state,” said Col. Mark McDonough, commander of the Georgia State Patrol. “Two were identified. The I-75 stretch in Cobb to the Cherokee County border and I-85 from south of Spaghetti Junction to the Barrow County line.”
The I-85 phase of the project is scheduled to begin in March and continue to ramp up through July. There are expected to be 35 additional troopers along I-85 when things are fully up and running. Why the need for more state troopers on the interstates?
“Police departments are driven by calls for service,” McDonough said. “When you look at the prioritization of calls, do you go to the burglary call or the two car accident? Now, we’ll be right there with little or no delay in response time.”
Critics of the program cite revenue generation as the main reason for the increased troopers.
“The state doesn’t see a dime of those funds,” McDonough said. “Any proceeds, fines or fees go to the local community where it was written.”
The real purpose of the $11 million project, McDonough said, is to improve traffic on two interstates that historically provide some of the worst delays.
“It’s based on a concept called open roads,” McDonough said. “One agency to work with emergency services to clear accidents as quickly as possible.”
The Georgia State Patrol taking over for local jurisdictions on freeways is actually not a new scenario. Four years ago the GSP started handling all traffic and crash investigations on interstates within the Atlanta City limits. From 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. it’s up to the GSP to handle all incidents on freeways in Atlanta proper including I-75/85 and I-20.
For the new I-75 project and the forthcoming I-85 project troopers will be out in concentrated numbers between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. mirroring the typical rush hours.
In terms of improving traffic, the $11 million price tag is a lot easier to swallow when compared to some of the billion dollar solutions that have been proposed recently.
It’s still early, but two weeks in to the project on I-75, I think we have seen some improvement in traffic conditions in Cobb County. Hopefully it will continue to get better on both I-75 and I-85 when the patrols increase there in 2013.
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