Gov. Nathan Deal visited the Perimeter Community Improvement Districts on Friday and reaffirmed his commitment to that group’s priority project — the reconstruction of the interchange at Ga. 400 and I-285.
Deal’s promise that “we are going to build and finish and open the new interchange at Highway 400 and Interstate 285,” was met with loud applause at a luncheon for the business group. The interchange is used by more than 300,000 motorists each day and is one of the most congested in the region.
However, the governor did not specify a time frame for the project, which is expected to cost roughly half a billion dollars.
“It will cost hundreds of millions of dollars and will be a rather extensive time frame,” Deal acknowledged after the luncheon.
Only about $90 million has been set aside so far, $10.5 million of which is from the Perimeter CIDs, a self-taxing business district.
The other $80 million was freed up by the Atlanta Regional Commission last year. It wasn’t specifically earmarked for the Ga. 400/I-285 interchange, but it was designated for the state’s use without restriction on where it could go. The state Department of Transportation’s planning director Toby Carr has said the interchange is a likely candidate.
The project is currently slated to be built between 2020 and 2030 in the Atlanta Regional Commission’s long-range transportation plan.
About the Author
