A controversial concept for adding a Ga. 400 interchange at East Paces Ferry Road is dead, according to the Buckhead Community Improvement District, while possible improvements to the Lenox Road interchange are still on the drawing board.
The East Paces interchange concept was proposed nearly three years ago in a master plan study commissioned by the BCID, Livable Buckhead, the Buckhead Business Association, the Buckhead Coalition and the Rotary Club of Buckhead. The very idea drew criticisms and lawsuit threats from neighborhood groups in Pine Hills and Peachtree Park. The BCID has been studying it since then.
Staff member Tony Peters said at the BCID board’s Nov. 27 meeting that the concept is now “abandoned” in part due to “obnoxious” cost estimates around $200 million.
BCID Executive Director Jim Durrett said the interchange also would have caused “enormous disruption” to the Lenox MARTA Station and that the Georgia Department of Transportation expressed safety concerns about possible traffic conflicts with the nearby Sidney Marcus Boulevard ramp. The concept “just didn’t work” he said.
Improvements to the existing Lenox Road interchange were also recommended in the master plan and are still being studied. Peters said 12 to 13 ideas are in discussion with such agencies as
GDOT and the Georgia Regional Transportation Agency for winnowing down to three or four concepts for further work. The concepts cover “everything from vehicular changes to pedestrian crossings to aesthetic improvements,” Peters said.