Tree removal starts for Ga. 400/I-285 project

Building a new I-285 interchange at Ga. 400 is expected to take four years and cost $800 million. Tree removal, a preliminary to the project, begins this week along Ga. 400. TAYLOR CARPENTER/AJC

Building a new I-285 interchange at Ga. 400 is expected to take four years and cost $800 million. Tree removal, a preliminary to the project, begins this week along Ga. 400. TAYLOR CARPENTER/AJC

A contractor this week will start clearing trees for the $800 million reconstruction of the I-285/Ga. 400 interchange at the top of the Perimeter in the Dunwoody-Sandy Springs area.

As a prelude to the four-year Transform 285/400 interchange project, North Perimeter Contractors, the private-sector partner of the Georgia Department of Transportation, will begin by working the southbound side of Ga. 400 from the Mount Vernon Road bridge north to Abernathy Road, GDOT officials said.

Once it finishes that side of the road, NPC will work on the northbound side of Ga. 400 from Abernathy south to Mount Vernon. Both daytime and nighttime work is planned over the next few weeks.

“Crews will remove trees and other vegetation from the right of way and within the interchange for the new collector-distributor lanes that will be built on the sides of I-285 and (Ga.) 400,” said Albert Welch, GDOT program delivery engineer for major projects.

Exact work dates may change due to the weather or other factors. Motorists are cautioned to reduce speed while traveling through the work zone, pay attention and watch for workers.

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