Source: GeorgiaTolls.comATLANTA (CBS ATLANTA) -
Carpoolers who use the Lindbergh Drive entrance and exit ramps at Interstate 85 will have to use an alternate route until mid-summer.
The HOV ramps closed late Monday night as part of a massive project that's expected to help unclog traffic congestion in southern part of Atlanta's Buckhead community.
In the 1990s, when GA-400 was extended into Sandy Springs and Buckhead, the Georgia Department of Transportation never created a direct path for drivers to go south on I-85 and then north on GA-400 or vice versa. This project will create flyover ramps that will solve the problem.
"I'm glad," said Susan Monroe, a long-time Buckhead resident. "Anything that's going to get more traffic off the streets around here and back where it should be – on the interstates. Those people don't want to get off and come through here either. I think it's great."
"For years, everyone's been staring at this big clump of dirt waiting for them to build this bridge. So I was pretty happy," said Atlanta resident David Goetsch. "I'm glad they're finally doing it. I think it's going to help a lot."
The ramps are scheduled to reopen by July 21, 2013. Motorists should use Cheshire Bridge Road to access the Lindbergh MARTA Station.
The flyover project is expected to cost $21.5 million. It's funded entirely from SRTA Toll Revenue Bonds. Archer Western Contractors, Ltd. is the contractor.
Copyright 2013 WGCL-TV (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.
