The long-planned project to add express lanes to Ga. 400 moved forward this week with the State Transportation Board’s selection of a contractor to build and operate the 16-mile stretch of new, toll lanes from Fulton to Forsyth County.
It’s the first public-private partnership of its kind in Georgia, and the agreement will allow SR 400 Peach Partners to collect tolls along the route for 50 years. Here’s five things to know about the $4.6 billion express lanes project.
The express lanes are still a long way off — construction is expected to take six years
Don’t expect any changes soon: The new toll lanes aren’t projected to open until in early 2031. GDOT expects to sign a contract this November and complete the financial closing process sometime next summer. Only then will construction start.
In its proposal, Peach Partners divided the 16-mile stretch into three segments, with initial construction starting at the south end and moving its way north.
The number of general, non-toll lanes won’t change
The new tolled lanes planned for Ga. 400 are in addition to the existing general-purpose lanes, and drivers won’t pay a toll unless they opt into the express lanes. The plans call for barrier-separated lanes like the existing Northwest Corridor express lanes on I-75 and I-575.
The toll lanes will start near the North Springs MARTA station. Under the preliminary design, four express lanes — two in each direction — will be added along the outside of Ga. 400. When the lanes reach Northridge Road, the express lanes will move to the inside center lanes. Around McGinnis Ferry Road, the express lanes will narrow to one lane in either direction. The lanes will end about a mile north of McFarland Parkway.
Georgians won’t pay to build the express lanes
With a design and construction cost estimated at $4.6 billion, the project is the largest GDOT has ever pursued. But taxpayers won’t foot that bill. Peach Partners, which represents a coalition of construction, engineering and financing partners, will shoulder the costs. In addition, as part of its bid for the project, Peach Partners offered the state a $4 billion concession. The company will pay that money in about a year.
GDOT had set aside $900 in subsidies, but that won’t be needed for the project now and it frees that money up for other projects throughout metro Atlanta and the state.
Some public money will still be used for the project, however. In 2022, GDOT picked two firms to replace three bridges along Ga. 400 at a cost of $55.1 million. The bridges, at Pitts Road, Roberts Drive and Kimball Bridge Road, were all more than 50 years old. They were widened to make way for the express lanes. The state also issued $100 million in general obligation bonds to support the rapid bus infrastructure that will be added as part of the express lane project.
There’s an upper limit on toll rates
In exchange for building and operating the express lanes, Peach Partners is allowed to collect tolls along the route for 50 years. The rates charged will vary but the goal is to guarantee speeds of 55 mph in the express lanes. The more congestion, the higher the toll.
But the state is putting limits on how much the private company can charge. Currently, GDOT has set the maximum rate at $1.83 per mile, a rate that can double temporarily if speeds fall below 55 mph. That base rate will be evaluated and adjusted annually.
At that rate, the cost of driving the whole 16-mile stretch could range from $29.28 to $58.56 in the worst-case traffic scenario. Many drivers will only hop on for a shorter distance. The State Road and Tollway Authority will monitor pricing and can levy fines if tolls are set too high.
Congestion in the general lanes will likely decrease — at first
Drivers who opt-in to the express lanes won’t take up space in the general lanes, decreasing congestion there. That’s what GDOT saw when the Northwest Corridor express lanes opened in 2018. In the first eight months, the average speed on I-75 northbound during the afternoon rush hour was twice what it was before the express lanes opened.
While the speeds on the express lanes will be guaranteed, the effect of improvements in the general lanes is expected to be temporary. That’s because of a phenomenon called latent demand. When a road is backed up and at capacity, drivers avoid it. But when drivers see emptier roads, they’ll use it.
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