$110M Investment Planned to Address I-85 Traffic

Gov. Sonny Perdue and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters have announced the federal government is investing $110 million to support an innovative plan to reduce traffic congestion on the Interstate 85 corridor in Gwinnett and DeKalb counties.

The plan will allow more commuters to take advantage of I-85’s HOV lanes, and will allow for the establishment of new high-speed commuter bus service into downtown. The $110 million federal grant will be matched by $37 million in state and local funds.

The project development and delivery will take two years. The first phase of the demonstration project will institute a network consisting of dynamically-priced high occupancy toll lanes on I-85, stretching from I-285 to Old Peachtree Road by January, 2011. The state will monitor the demonstration project for multiple success factors and report its performance through extensive outreach to the general public and lawmakers.

Future phases of Atlanta’s congestion plan will include a 49-mile network of additional HOV-to-HOT lane conversions along I-85, I-75 and I-20. Similar HOT lane projects have been implemented in Minneapolis and Southern California, and these areas have already seen a reduction in the amount of congestion during peak travel times.

Also included in the grant is $30 million for transit service enhancement that will operate on the newly converted expressways. The funding will go towards the purchase of new buses and the construction and expansion of park-and-ride facilities.

Georgia is the most recent state to receive federal funding from the Department of Transportation for its efforts to establish a more permanent federal program focused on innovative solutions to improve mobility and fight increasing congestion in metropolitan areas. Details on Secretary Peters’ innovative Reform Proposal can be found at www.FightGridlockNow.gov .