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GDOT Hopes Extra Work Won’t Delay Opening Of I-75 Express Lanes

August 7th, 2018

GDOT says it’s working to open new express lanes on I-75 and I-575 north of Atlanta on schedule.

David Goldman / Associated Press

The Georgia Department of Transportation says it’s working to open new express lanes on Interstate 75 and Interstate 575 north of Atlanta on schedule.

That’s despite the recent addition of more work to the Northwest Corridor project.

In June, a portion of wall facade collapsed along a section of the reversible toll lanes on I-75. After that, GDOT ordered a report of the structures. It’s currently reviewing that report.

“It’s important that we take some time to digest what this independent engineering study says, so that we know what we will require of the contractor moving forward,” said GDOT spokeswoman Natalie Dale.

Dale says the agency could make the contractor do more work on the walls. She says the same walls are currently built along less than 2 miles of the roughly 30 mile project.

That would be on top of the work that still needs to be done to open the lanes, like paving and striping.

GDOT also plans to conduct a full end-to-end test of the lanes and their technology systems and is still training local first responders how to navigate the lanes during emergencies.

Natalie Dale says the project was set to open in late summer 2018 and the agency still has that goal in mind.

“We will still try to make that date but we are not going to open a system that is not safe and not complete,” she said.

Still, Dale says GDOT has yet to set a final opening date for the $834 million project.