ATLANTA, GA
Neel-Schaffer has designs on easing traffic congestion in Atlanta
Neel-Schaffer was one of the two lead design firms for this massive I-285/SR 400 interchange improvements project that is expected to be completed in 2020.
Ferrovial Agroman US Corp is the lead contractor for the project that the Georgia Department of Transportation considers a priority for the metro Atlanta region. The improvements involve two separate projects: The I-285/SR 400 Interchange Reconstruction, and the SR 400 Collector-Distributor Lanes.
The two stand-alone projects are being constructed as Design Build Finance (DBF), Public Private Partnership (P3).
The combined cost is estimated at $1 billion.
Neel-Schaffer’s role included all design elements for the SR 400 portion of the project, from Hammond Drive to Pitts Road. This includes six major bridges, 4.05 miles of retaining walls, 5.67 miles of noise walls, roadway improvements for the 400 mainline and new CD lanes, roadway improvements for Mt. Vernon Road, and a diverging diamond interchange at Abernathy Road.
A Notice to Proceed for design was issued on April 11, 2016. Construction began in 2017, and the project’s anticipated construction completion date is mid-2020.
In addition to rebuilding the I-285/SR 400 interchange, this project will make improvements along I-285 from west of Roswell Road in Fulton County, to east of Ashford-Dunwoody Road in DeKalb County (4.3 miles). SR 400 will be improved from the Glenridge Connector to Pitts Road (6.2 miles). This project was approved environmentally as two separate projects, but it will be constructed as one.
GDOT expects the improvements to reduce delays over 20,000 hours a day, and reduce traffic congestion and improvement safety in the areas surrounding the interchange.