Georgia DOT Advancing Key Mobility Program Projects

August 5, 2022

The Georgia Department of Transportation said it has advanced four key projects on I-285 and State Route or SR 400 in support of its Major Mobility Investment Program or MMIP, which represents critical investments in the state’s roadway transportation network to meet regional needs and deliver positive results to motorists and transit users alike.

[Above photo by the Georgia DOT]

The MMIP is a grouping of large-scale projects expected to yield a significant reduction in congestion along key freight and passenger corridors, the agency said. The projects will create additional capacity, improve the movement of freight, provide operational improvements and efficiencies, enhance safety, and decrease travel times.

Photo by Georgia DOT

The Georgia DOT said its MMIP relies on Advanced Improvement Project or AIP goals that include providing local road improvements earlier, mitigating traffic challenges during the construction of future express lanes’ projects, producing early operational improvements to general-purpose lanes and maintaining healthy competition among construction developer partners.

The agency further expedites those AIP goals via Design-Build contracts, it said.

“Transportation investment is a crucial component of Georgia’s economic future and the collaboration of the surrounding cities and counties proved invaluable to the acceleration of these projects,” noted Georgia DOT Commissioner Russell McMurry in a statement.

Russell McMurry. Photo by the Georgia DOT

“[We] strive to deliver infrastructure improvements as soon as practically possible to meet community need and deliver positive benefits to drivers and transit users. These major projects are recognized as innovative ways to address congestion, add capacity, mitigate bottlenecks, and help Georgia remain the No. 1 state to do business,” he added.

“It remains the department’s goal to deliver the nation’s most responsive and innovative transportation solutions that improve our quality of life,” McMurry said.

The four key MMIP projects advanced by Georgia DOT are:

  • The I-285 Westbound Auxiliary Lane Extension adds an auxiliary lane along I-285 between Roswell Road and Riverside Drive as well as replacing the I-285/Mount Vernon Highway Bridge. Construction should begin in early 2023 and wrap up in late 2024.
  • The I-285/Peachtree Industrial Boulevard Interchange Improvements combines the I-285 Westbound exit ramps to Peachtree Industrial Boulevard north and south, while adjusting the horizontal curve of the north exit ramp to reduce bottleneck from I-285. Construction began in early 2022 and should wrap up in 2023.
  • The I-285 Eastside Bridge Replacements replaces and extends two overpass bridges to accommodate future I-285 Eastside Express Lanes (Covington Highway over I-285, Redwing Circle over I-285, and Glenwood Road over I-285). Construction began in early 2022 and should wrap up in 2023.
  • The SR 400 Phase 1 DB project replaces three bridges – Pitts Road, Roberts Drive, and Kimball Bridge Road – while building a “raised profile” to accommodate the future express lanes. Additionally, the new bridges incorporate multiuse paths. This project was pulled forward as part of the phased delivery of the planned SR 400 Express Lanes project to leverage a portion of the $184 million INFRA grant Georgia DOT received to relieve congestion along this corridor. Construction should start in early 2023 and wrap up in 2025.
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