Team selected to build GA. 400/I-285 interchange

The state transportation board on Thursday morning has selected a preferred team to design, build and partially finance the I-285/Ga. 400 interchange, which is expected to bring relief to one of the most heavily traveled corridors in the nation.

North Perimeter Contractors won the bid at $460 million, which brings the revised total for the project to $679 million. The team is a partnership between contractor Ferrovial Agroman US Corp and engineering firms The Louis Berger Group and Neel-Shaffer.

The price tag makes the reconstruction of the interchange one of the most — but not the most — expensive road project in state history.

More importantly to drivers, the vote is a huge step toward getting shovels moving on the project.

“The average commuter will save hours of their life in a year, so it’s going to be a huge improvement in delays,” said Meg Pirkle, the chief engineer for the Georgia Department of Transportation.

The vote doesn’t meant it’s a done deal. But it means contract negotiations will proceed with only the chosen team with the expectation that, if all goes as planned, a final deal will be inked in April.

The new interchange and several miles of collector-distributor lanes along I-285 will cost an estimated $1.1 billion. Each day, more than 400,000 vehicles converge at the intersection of I-285 and Ga. 400, making it one of Atlanta’s most congested.

The four shortlisted teams competing to design, build and partially finance the project were:

AWH Roadbuilders, LLC: A partnership between road contractors Archer Western Contractors and Hubbard Construction with the engineering firm Parsons.

Dragados-Flatiron-Prince JV: A partnership between contractors Dragados USA, Flat Iron Constructors and Prince with engineering firms Figg Bridge and Stantec Consulting Services.

North Perimeter Contractors: A partnership between contractor Ferrovial Agroman US Corp and engineering firms The Louis Berger Group and Neel-Schaffer.

Skanska/Balfour Beatty, a Joint Venture: A partnership between contractors Skanska and Balfour Beatty Infrastructure with engineering firm Atkins.

For more information about the I-285/SR 400 interchange reconstruction, including summaries of each team's proposal, visit http://www.dot.ga.gov/BS/Projects/I285SR400.