In a statement issued Dec. 14 by Georgia Department of Transportation spokesman David Spear, Cherokee’s state transportation commissioner, Brandon Beach, announced the High Occupancy Toll (HOT) managed lanes project to be built on Interstate 75 and Interstate 575 has been cancelled, at least for the present.
No explanation had been provided at press time. Recently converted managed lanes, which were fashioned from existing lanes, have been met with controversy from Interstate 85 commuters on the northeast side of Atlanta, and Gov. Nathan Deal had to lower the tolls to use them.
Beach is the Transportation P3 Committee Chairman.
The P3 (Public/Private Partnership) was expected to begin construction in 2013, after a private partner was selected from qualified bidders this coming February. This is the first time Georgia has attempted a P3 road building project.
The requests for proposals were issued in September.
The lanes, costing around $1 billion to build, would be paid for using gas tax and revenue bonds, with the private partner financing around $700 million, along with a $270 million contribution from a low-interest federal Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan.
The private company would have been repaid through toll revenues.
In the press release, Beach said the state transportation board is “examining other available options for the delivery of this project.” Neither Beach nor Spear returned the Ledger-News’ repeated calls seeking further comment.
Larry Mrozinski, a local citizen who has been outspoken in his opposition to the managed lanes, said he’s happy the project is canceled.
“I still think citizens of Cherokee County and Georgia are confused,” Mrozinski said. “Why is Beach looking to find another way to fund it? The public doesn’t want it.”
Mrozinski said public-private partnerships are not held accountable, and the arrangement amounts to leasing off already-paid-for public property to create another lane. He also said the managed lanes actually discourage carpooling.
A private partner is not involved in the HOT lane project on I-85 in northeast metro-Atlanta. In that case, rather than building new lanes paralleling the interstate, as proposed in the P3 project, an existing lane was converted for toll use.
Although managed lanes of this type have been referred to as HOT lanes, Spear said carpools, defined as three or more people in a car, will not be exempt from paying to use them. On I-85, the design allows for three-person carpools to travel free, but not those with only two passengers.
Called the West by Northwest Managed Lanes Project, involved a managed lane system planned for interstates 75 in Cobb County and 575 in Cherokee County. A total of 18 miles of new lanes were to be built along I-75, from Akers Mill Road to just north of Hickory Grove Road, and 11 miles on I-575 from I-75 to Sixes Road in Holly Springs.
Two new managed lanes were proposed along the west side of I-75 between Interstate 285 and I-575. A single, reversible lane in the middle of the roadway was proposed along both I-75 and I-575, north of where the two interstates split.
According to GDOT, the Northwest corridor is one of Atlanta’s most congested travel corridors, with a population of more than 400,000 residents. Currently, I-575 has four lanes, two in each direction.
