Articles

Perdue Transportation Plan Focuses On Cobb I-75 Corridor

Richard Whitt, Brenden Sager, AJC Staff
April 15, 2004

Gov. Sonny Perdue's "Fast Forward" transportation plan will one day significantly change driving patterns for the millions of people who travel the I-75 corridor through metro Atlanta, especially in the aggravating stretch through Cobb County.

A large chunk of the $15.5 billion the state will spend on roads and other traffic improvements over the next six years will go to build express lanes for buses and expand the HOV lanes along the 9 miles of I-75 between I-285 and I-575 in Cobb.

"It's going to have a huge impact," said Johnny Gresham, a member of the Georgia Department of Transportation Board.

Gresham said Perdue's plan is "a move in the right direction to set a plan to specifically address congestion and air quality in metro area."

"It's difficult because, in this state, half of the people live in the metro area and drive 75 percent of vehicle miles driven every day," he said. "They move up and down I-75 and want to get there 'now.'Ê"

Cobb County Commission Chairman Sam Olens said the state transportation projects are a coup for the county. Cobb claimed the largest portion of the state funding for transit -- $700 million -- and an equal amount for HOV lanes along I-75.

"We couldn't have ended up any better than we are," Olens said. "The fact that Cobb County has been listed as the top priority in the project only makes it that much better."

While Cobb projects are a huge chunk of the pie, the governor's plan calls for sweeping improvements throughout the metro Atlanta area, including cameras and other monitoring devices, synchronized signals on main surface roads and an expansion of the Highway Emergency Response Operator, or HERO, network.

The Cobb County section of I-75 targeted for revamping is among the worst traffic-choked roads in the country. A study released this year by the American Highway Users Alliance, a group of road builders, car manufacturers and trucking companies, ranked the I-75 interchange at I-285 in its Top 20 national bottlenecks with 239,193 cars per day. That's right where the current I-75 HOV lanes stop.

HOV lanes (for cars with two or more occupants) can significantly reduce congestion, transportation officials say. The HOV lane on I-75 through Fulton County accounts for 12.7 percent (21,800 vehicles) of the northbound traffic and 12.8 percent (25,400 vehicles) of the southbound traffic between Moores Mill Road and Howell Mill Road each day.

Vision for Cobb

Olens has long worked to attract dollars to the Cobb Galleria area at I-75 and I-285 -- a regional employment hub. The county is building a new performing arts center in the area and trying to encourage more office development. The rapid-transit bus system planned along new I-75 HOV lanes and between the Galleria and Spaghetti Junction on I-285 in Gwinnett County will attract new employers who insist on such systems, Olens said. The current Cobb Community Transit system will have to be re-engineered to feed the I-75 busway that would extend from Town Center to Midtown, Olens said.

The $15.5 billion spending plan Perdue announced Wednesday, of which $11 billion was anticipated, includes $3 billion in federally backed loans against future federal grants. Nearly two-thirds of that $3 billion will go to building the HOV lanes on I-75 and on Ga. 400. The state also will spend $211 million on the Navigator Intelligent Transportation System to expand cameras and other traffic monitoring devices. About $1.5 billion will go to widen arterial roads in metro Atlanta and rural roads.

About $41 million will go toward expanding HERO units to cover more miles and add freeway ramp meters to control the flow of traffic onto interstates. Commuter rail was not included in Perdue's funding plan, but the DOT is using $106 million previously allocated to move ahead with a proposal to build a line from Atlanta to Lovejoy in south Clayton County.

In Georgia, the governor guides transportation policy with help from state lawmakers, state transportation agencies and regional planners. The Georgia Department of Transportation creates wish lists of projects for most of Georgia. For metro Atlanta, the project list is compiled by the Atlanta Regional Commission and must be approved by the governor. The governor's influence over transportation primarily comes from two sources: He directs federal funds that come to the state, and as chief executive, he controls state funds through his veto power over the budget.

Slow road to progress

Gresham, the DOT board member who lives in east Cobb, said the $15.5 billion in Perdue's plan will be spent over the next six years, though not all of the projects will be completed by then. While these projects are underway, traffic congestion is likely to get worse before it get better, Gresham conceded. He hopes commuters will be patient.

"Anytime you've got construction going on, you can't drive 75 miles an hour," Gresham said. "It slows down traffic. Ê.Ê.Ê. But we've found that if people see progress they're more tolerant."

The I-75 project will include bus rapid transit, or BRT, stations. These train-like buses with rubber tires and platform loading also will use the dedicated HOV lanes. The planned HOV lanes may include concrete barriers to separate them from regular traffic lanes, Gresham said. That would prevent interlopers from switching in and out of the HOV lanes and improve traffic flow, he said.

Staff writers Duane D. Stanford and Joey Ledford contributed to this report.

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