ATLANTA (AP) - Georgia transportation planners say converting Atlanta’s Downtown Connector into a double-decked superhighway -- or creating tunnels beneath or parallel to it -- are the types of ideas they want explored.

The Georgia Department of Transportation is requesting proposals from companies to study those ideas plus many others.

The request comes as the agency embarks on its latest study of the often-jammed highway that cuts through the heart of downtown Atlanta. The department this year advertised for consulting services for separate studies of the Downtown Connector and Tara Boulevard corridor.

The idea of double-decking the Connector has been suggested by various groups in the past. In its latest request for consultants, the DOT said it wants both ”very large-scale, innovative, or unconventional ideas’ such as the double-decking as well as smaller-scale improvements.

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