Work Begins on Ga. 400-I-85 Interchange, a Long-Awaited Project in Buckhead

From Patch Reports

The Georgia Department of Transportation began work Tuesday on the I-85- Ga. 400 interchange, a project long awaited in Buckhead.

Contracters were to begin staging equipment and placing barrier walls on the shoulders, a GDOT news release said. The GDOT installed work zone signs on Friday, and no lane closures are intially planned for the preliminary work, according to the announcment.

The project will reconstruct the interchange of Ga. 400 and I-85 by providing connector ramps from 400 southbound to I-85 northbound and from I-85 southbound to 400 northbound. As part of the project, a pedestrian trail will be constructed from Cheshire Bridge Road to Lenox Road, including a bridge across the North Fork Peachtree Creek.

“We are excited to get this project under way,” said Georgia DOT District Engineer Bryant Poole in a statement. “When it is completed, I think the public will be very pleased with the final product as we get some congestion relief for the arterial roads in the area that have had to deal with the transitional traffic.”

As the project progresses, lane closures on I-85 and Ga. 400 will only be allowed in the overnight hours and on the weekends, the news release said. Lane closures on the arterial roadways in the area including Buford Highway, Cheshire Bridge Road and Sidney Marcus Boulevard will be permitted at night only. Later in the project, the Lindbergh Drive HOV ramps will be closed for up to six months.

Archer Western Contractors, Ltd. is the contractor and the cost of the project is $21.5 million. The contract completion date is Dec. 31, 2013.

How will the interchange when completed improve your daily commute? Let us know in Comments.