The State Road and Tollway Authority (SRTA) in Georgia signed off June 26 on two major highway improvement projects, including an interchange west of Atlanta that is ranked among the worst traffic bottlenecks in the nation.

SRTA Board members unanimously approved resolutions authorizing agreements between the authority and the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) to split oversight of upgrades to intersections along Georgia Highway 316 and an overhaul of the heavily congested Interstate 285/I-20 West interchange.

The Ga. 316 project calls for building seven grade-separated intersections along the busy highway connecting Athens with I-85 in Lawrenceville to improve both traffic flow and safety. The intersections involved in the project are in Barrow and Oconee counties.

The construction will be done through three contracts worth approximately $350 million in total, the Ledger-Enquirer reported, with the first one involving two Ga. 316 intersections in Barrow County.

GDOT plans to issue a request for proposals from interested road builders for the $100 million contract and announce the winner of the bidding in December.

Construction is due to start during the fall of 2024.

The second road project calls for redesigning the I-285/I-20 West interchange west of Atlanta, ranked as the fifth-worst traffic bottleneck in the U.S. by the American Transportation Research Institute.

Likely totaling about $1 billion to build, that project will include the removal of the interstate's left-hand entrance and exit ramps and building a westbound collector-distributor system from the interchange to Fulton Industrial Boulevard.

Additionally, lanes will be added along I-20 from Factory Shoals Road to Hamilton E. Holmes Drive and along I-285 from Donald E. Hollowell Parkway to MLK Jr. Drive. Several bridges along the corridor also will be replaced, the Columbus news source noted.

In April, GDOT chose two finalists for the work, and the state agency said it plans to announce a "best value proposer" during the second quarter of 2024.

Under the agreements between SRTA and GDOT, SRTA will finance the projects and pay the contractors, while the transportation department will manage the construction. Georgia's State Transportation Board has already approved both agreements.

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