The Atlanta Braves’ decision to locate in Cobb County can be directly attributed to the county’s transportation planning efforts and infrastructure improvements. With close to a billion dollars in mobility improvements being rolled out in the next several years, Cobb’s planning has paid off.
The Cumberland district is blessed with economic assets, two decades’ worth of infrastructure investments and a long history of visionary leadership. Already, the future stadium site has a well-developed network of 14 existing access points from the north, south east and west, and many more improvements in the works.
Our plan is to direct traffic through these multiple access points, thus smoothing potential bottlenecks and eliminating the need to travel through already congested interchanges.
In addition, Cobb Community Transit has five bus routes currently serving Cumberland as well as MARTA’s Route 12.
This access will be complemented by significant roadway improvements scheduled or already under construction, including the Windy Hill diverging diamond interchange and extensive Windy Hill Road improvements on both sides of I-75.
Other improvements include Cobb Parkway from Akers Mill to Paces Mill, which just had its groundbreaking with completion scheduled for mid-2016, and the Chattahoochee River bridge replacement, with construction expected to complete in December 2014.
The Georgia Department of Transportation’s Northwest Corridor I-75 Managed Lanes, to be open in 2018, will also address traffic congestion by increasing general purpose lane capacity as peak period travelers take advantage of the managed lane option.
Key projects under development include a pedestrian-transit bridge from the Galleria area to the stadium area, a shuttle system connecting the Galleria and Cumberland areas, parking and existing transit service, and a split-diamond interchange at Cobb Parkway and Cumberland.
Connect Cobb, the transit study recommending bus rapid transit technology serving the area from Kennesaw State University/Town Center through Cumberland and on the I-75 HOV lanes to the Arts Center Station in Midtown Atlanta, is presently in the environmental studies phase.
The study results so far demonstrate bus rapid transit is a cost-effective way to enhance our roadway network while supporting corridor development. We expect to complete the environmental assessment in spring 2014, and any resulting project could benefit the existing network.
Cobb County has a proud reputation of project development on schedule and on budget. Our history of management excellence, a welcoming business climate, and a well-planned infrastructure system is exactly what made us an attractive location to a world-class organization like the Braves. The road ahead is clear.
Tim Lee is chairman of the Cobb County Commission.
