G-DOT to start work on the new I-85/GA-400 Interchange (Atlanta: home, employment)

[mocca25]

I think this project is well overdue and will make it much easier to commute between these two areas.

I-85/Ga. 400 Interchange Could Ease Traffic - News Story - WSB Atlanta

[mike7586]

Good! This project alone is worth paying a 50 cent toll!

[cwkimbro]

I agree they should keep the toll for a little longer to do this.... but...

I realize it would probably be more expensive than it is worth to move all of the toll booths, but I can't help but to feel like the Toll needs to be south of Buckhead.

The areas that will benefit from this interchange enhancement the most will be commuters between I-85 North and Buckhead. It will help land values in the Buckhead/Lenox area and commuters to the NE and North-central-ish Dekalb, but it won't directly help many of the commuters actually paying the toll North of Buckhead who are most likely commuting to Buckhead or to Midtown/Downtown.

It seems like the least they could do is connect the Buford Highway Connector to the interchange. It would be a huge boost at helping some traffic on the connector and make midtown that much more accessible.

[arjay57]

If you moved the toll south you'd encourage more traffic in Buckhead, which seems to defeat the purpose.

Bear in mind that southbound traffic on 400 is heaviest in the afternoon, as commuters from the huge employment centers in the northern suburbs make their way back home to the city of Atlanta or the suburbs on its East, South and West sides.

There's also a very significant movement of commuters from DeKalb and Gwinnett Counties into Buckhead, and to some degree vice versa. These folks will be some of the heaviest users of the new ramps, so it makes sense to let them pay the tolls.

Another issue with moving the toll plaza south is simply where to put it. Toll plazas slow down traffic and require substantial staging areas. If you move it south, you've got 85 and the Buford Highway Connector to deal with, plus you're getting close to the intersection with I-75. You'd also have more construction costs and issues with sound and lighting.

[cwkimbro]

Originally Posted by arjay57

There's also a very significant movement of commuters from DeKalb and Gwinnett Counties into Buckhead, and to some degree vice versa. These folks will be some of the heaviest users of the new ramps, so it makes sense to let them pay the tolls.

This is what I was trying to get at... If the toll booths were south of Buckhead, then you would capture more of the users who go through that interchanges than the Northern suburbs -> Buckhead commuters who won't use that interchange. And the people from I-85 -> Buckhead would be tolled.

[arjay57]

Oh I see what you're saying.

[RandyWatson13]

WE DON'T NEED ANY TOLL DID YOU GUYS FORGET WE PAID THE ROAD OFF!!!!

Damn crooks! THey sold bonds to fix this!

[K'ledgeBldr]

Originally Posted by cwkimbro

...the least they could do is connect the Buford Highway Connector to the interchange. It would be a huge boost at helping some traffic on the connector and make midtown that much more accessible.

This is the one thing that should really be considered. A 'northbound' ramp off the connector to the 85/400 north ramp-
I'm no highway engineer- but it sure looks doable. A southbound ramp doesn't seem necessary because the Seventeenth St exit is just a mile/mile and a half away.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by RandyWatson13

WE DON'T NEED ANY TOLL DID YOU GUYS FORGET WE PAID THE ROAD OFF!!!!

Damn crooks! THey sold bonds to fix this!

I think they're talking about using the toll to pay for new additions to the road.

[testa50]

Originally Posted by K'ledgeBldr

This is the one thing that should really be considered. A 'northbound' ramp off the connector to the 85/400 north ramp-
I'm no highway engineer- but it sure looks doable. A southbound ramp doesn't seem necessary because the Seventeenth St exit is just a mile/mile and a half away.

It would help relieve the horrendously clogged southbound 400 onto I-85 interchange if Midtown-bound traffic could use the Buford Highway Connector more easily. It's already something that tons of people do: they see that the interchange is jammed so they bail out onto Sidney Marcus and take the connector south from there. This would save winding through all those stoplights and congestion.

There's no workable solution for the southbound interchange to improve its capacity, but this would at least be a step to relieve it.

The northbound side is more important, mainly since it's so tough to get from Midtown to 400--you have to go all the way down to North or cut through on Sidney Marcus.