"411 Connector" Update
According to a Rome, GA, radio station website I came across yesterday while "Googling" for "411 connector" (I forgot the actual station name.), here is the latest news I have:
If all goes according to Georgia DOT's schedule, the land acquistion for the "411 Connector" in Bartow County will begin in 2006.
Actual construction may not begin until 2007 and completion may not be until 2010 at the earliest.
Georgia's First PPI Approved By DOT
Yesterday, the Georgia DOT's State Transportation Board unanimously approved the Public-Private Initiative (PPI) proposal from a consortium called Georgia Transportation Partners to add toll lanes along the Northwest Corridor (I-75/I-575 in Cobb and Cherokee Counties).
This will be Georgia's very first PPI. To learn more, please click here for the GDOT's official press release.
That's all for now. Thanks for visiting and please do so often.
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1 comment:
This one really hits close to home. I hate to sound like a greeny, but I really dread when they turn I-575 into an ugly eight lane with all this weirdness of lexus lanes and truck lanes. Since 2003, I have commuted on I-575 from end to end and grew up off of Exit 4 (now Exit 7) on I-575.
I don't argue that it is badly needed now. The backups between I-75 and Towne Lake Parkway (a dirt road until 1989) are horrendous. To me, it was the most beautiful and modern looking of interstates when it first opened, and it still is very scenic compared to all the other freeways in Georgia aside from maybe I-185. However, the 30 mile commute up and down it can get tiring at times :-/
The history of I-575 is quite interesting, and it can't be all told on the website. I remember seeing how a lot of the old unpaved county roads were transformed by it as well. I remember watching it being built, too. SR 5 was almost completely yanked from the old route in early 1986 when I-575 was finished to the then "Jasper By-Pass". SR 205 was also lost when the stretch from Woodstock to Canton opened in early 1985.
Also of interest is that the oldest stretch of I-575 is not the portion near Marietta, but is actually the winding portion in Canton that carries the SR 20 overlap today. I found a DOT county map showing exactly how that all worked and will copy or scan that image to use on the site.
Also, it is looking very strongly that GDOT will be forced to extend I-575 in the near future because the traffic situation past the north end is totally chaotic. There has already been discussion about interchanges at SR 108 and SR 53 Business, and if they don't do something fast the road will be pure gridlock when they have to install a row of lights. 5-10 years and that stretch will strongly resemble 316 in Lawrenceville.
For this, it is definitely time to do the ultimate photo essay for I-575 to publish on my site. I have taken some photos, but they were not good ones and I took them half-heartedly as I had other priorities such as getting the last of the old signs on 400 :) So, I did this for not only 400, but also the freeway portion of SR 316...now it's time to do it for I-575. I'll focus on it next week if the weather cooperates.
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