Commuters traveling south on Ga. 400 will have to wait a little longer for more elbow room.
Road crews had expected to finish work to incorporate auxiliary lanes into through traffic lanes from Mansell Road south to Holcomb Bridge Road by Thursday morning, but this week's rainy weather delayed the project's completion.
According to the AM750 and 95.5FM News/Talk Traffic Center, the new through lane is now expected to open to traffic early next week.
The Georgia Department of Transportation plans to convert more of the southbound lanes next week by working overnight Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. By next Thursday, DOT spokesman Mark McKinnon said, the DOT hopes to have the extra lane open from McFarland Parkway in Forsyth County south to Holcomb Bridge Road.
Auxiliary lanes are safety devices used to give merging and exiting traffic a lane of their own. They run from entrance ramp to exit ramp.
Motorists entering Ga. 400 southbound at Windward Parkway, Old Milton, Haynes Bridge Road or Mansell will immediately need to merge into through traffic once the conversion is completed.
It's the second low-cost measure the state has taken to improve traffic flow on the north-south artery in the past month.
Last month, the DOT began allowing morning commuters to drive in the southbound shoulder lane for the five miles from Holcomb Bridge Road south to the North Springs MARTA station. Previously, police and transit buses had exclusive use of the shoulder lane.
Sandy Springs police this week announced they will be issuing citations for motorists who use the shoulder lanes beyond the morning rush hours.
Unlike the shoulder lanes, the auxiliary lanes can be used at any time.
While the DOT has reported some traffic flow improvement south of Holcomb Bridge, McKinnon said the department will probably wait until the fall before collecting actual data. With school out and the vacation season in full swing, he said, there is no accurate way to compare travel times.
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