Michael and Linda Weinroth went for a drive on Aug. 2, 1993, and lucked into a spot in Georgia history as the first drivers to pay the Ga. 400 toll.
Twenty years later, they became the last. This time, however, was no coincidence.
The Sandy Springs couple were waved up to the booth on Friday as Gov. Nathan Deal, dozens of state and local bigwigs, and a gaggle of reporters looked on. The Weinroths mugged for cameras as they plunked their 50 cents in the coin basket.
And as their car pulled away, toll workers clad in neon yellow vests began waving other drivers through the booths. The lights on the electronic toll machines all permanently switched to green. The toll-taking officially ended at 11:04 a.m.
And for the first time in two decades, all Ga. 400 drivers began to zip through the toll plaza without tapping their brakes. A few even honked their horns in jubilation.
Linda Weinroth said she was surprised to get a call two weeks ago from someone with the state. The answering machine picked up. But Weinroth could hear an event planner start to leave a message offering her and her husband a chance to close out this unique chapter in the state’s history.
“I picked up the phone and said yes,” Weinroth said. “It’s my claim to fame, what can I say?”
Since the Weinroths became the first toll-payers, it’s not just them or their car that has changed.
(Then it was Michael’s 48th birthday. Today, he’s 68. Then, they drove a 1993 Honda Accord. Today, a 2012 Lincoln LS.)
The Buckhead landscape around the toll plaza also has changed — blossoming into a regional hub with 23 million square feet of office space, 1,400 retail stores, 5,275 hotel rooms, about 300 restaurants, 65 art galleries and 34 houses of worship.
“(The toll road) has been a big impetus for growth for us,” said Dave Fitzgerald, chairman of the Buckhead Coalition.
Communities farther up the road in north Fulton County, Forsyth County and beyond also have seen explosive population growth since the highway sprung up in their midst.
The tolls were initially set to end when the initial bonds were paid off in 2011. But then-Gov. Sonny Perdue created a huge public backlash after he opted to extend the toll to fund other road projects.
Deal, who made a campaign promise to end the tolls, finally reversed his predecessor’s decision in 2012. The toll-taking didn’t cease sooner, Deal said, because “this is the earliest point at which we can discharge all of those bonds without paying a penalty.”
Demolition of the toll plaza is scheduled to start in January and be completed by late 2014.
“I suppose you might say the public who uses this roadway has put their two cents’ worth in whether the tolls should come down,” Deal said. “Today, we’re going to let them keep their 50 cents from this point forward.”
About the Author
