Jack Dourron knows all about the current problems with the intersection of Georgia 400 and Northridge Road.
He’s seen accidents from the front yard of his home on Somerset Court, which intersects with Northridge. His driveway often serves as a convenient place for cars to pull in, back up and turn toward Roswell Road.
Sometimes drivers simply use the middle of the street as a spot to pull a U-turn. He said he is optimistic about the Gerogia Department of Transportation’s plans to spend $7 million in toll money improving roads around the interchange.
“Being the first house near the intersection with Northridge, you’d be amazed at how many accidents we see,” Dourron said during a Dec. 5 public meeting at Sandy Springs City Hall. GDOT invited the public to fill out comment cards about the upcoming project.
The planned improvements will widen the road and make improvements where Northridge intersects with Dunwoody Place, Roberts Drive, and Somerset Court.
GDOT reports the project will include widening the road along Northridge from Somerset Court to Dunwoody Place. The plans also call for widening of the north side of the bridge over Georgia 400. The portion of Northridge from Roberts Drive to Dunwoody Place will include six 11-foot travel lanes. David Spear, a spokesman for GDOT, said the project should begin in Aug. 2012.
The anticipated completion date sometime in 2013, the city reported.
GDOT is also considering a roundabout, a dedicated space for drivers to turn around, to keep traffic out of the driveways on Somerset court.
That would make Peggy Freedman happy. Freedman also lives near the road. She said she once was almost hit by a vehicle making a U-turn on Somerset.
“The roundabout really gives people the option to correct a mistake,” she said.
Scott Whaley, who uses Georgia 400 to commute to Alpharetta, said he’s had his own brush with a serious accident at the intersection of Northridge and Dunwoody Place. He said before the state spends $7 million, officials should consider changing the timing of the lights at the intersection and making the flow of traffic more efficient.
Councilwoman Dianne Fries attended the meeting and said GDOT should add two more feet to the bridge to give cyclists some additional room.
Dourron said the changes would be important for him and his neighbors. Turning left onto Northridge is a “nightmare,” he said. Speed around the intersection is also an issue for residents.
“People on Roberts Drive headed to Georgia drive as if they’re already on 400,” he said.