The state’s plan to build new toll lanes on the top end of I-285 appears to now include a possible new interchange on Paces Ferry Road in Vinings, just to the west of Buckhead. Other toll lane interchange proposals in Perimeter Center have been controversial as possibly causing major traffic boosts on local streets.
The Georgia Department of Transportation is planning a metro-wide network of separate toll lanes, known as “express lanes” or “managed lanes,” which are intended to reduce congestion. One set recently opened along I-75 and I-575.
GDOT is now planning toll lanes around the Ga. 400/I-285 interchange area to be built over the next decade, drawing controversy for possible land-taking, local traffic and designs that would place the lanes on ramps that could be over 30 feet high. The toll lanes require their own separate exits and entrances. One proposal to place a new interchange on Mount Vernon Highway has caused concern in the cities of Dunwoody and Sandy Springs, as it is projected to place tens of thousands of more vehicles on that street.
GDOT originally said the top end I-285 segment of the toll lanes would be built roughly between I-75 and I-85. However, it recently added part of Ga. 400 to that segment, and recently showed maps indicating the project will go to the Paces Ferry area to the west and Henderson Road in the Tucker area to the east, with interchanges possible there. GDOT did not respond to questions.