Toll Booths Coming to I-85
Georgia has received a $110 million Federal grant to create a toll lane on I-85, an effort to clear up congestion in Atlanta, the country's second-most congested urban area. The plan is to transform a current HOV lane in to a paid lane that's open to anyone willing to cough up some change. The fare would be kept at a high enough rate that many would be unwilling to pay, meaning the lane would be constantly moving at a quick pace. Similar systems charge as much as $1/mile in California.
Plans for exact fares are still tentative, though it is likely the charge would only apply to single drivers and small carpools, giving drivers an incentive to form larger carpool groups to ride for free. Any surplus from the toll collections would fund additional transportation initiatives.
Comments
Tollboths are a pain! Thanks for ruining Atlanta!!!
I like the HOV the way it is. I have nothing against toll roads but they should be for new roadways like GA 400 was.
how about we get better public transportation in atlanta? that would help w/the congestion on the highways. geez.
This certainly is causing an uproar - I’ve heard it from many of my friends as well. It will be interesting to see how they structure the system. Knowing GDOT, it will be ages before this becomes a reality, anyway!
” The NMA opposes the development and designation of high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes. All motorists are required to pay taxes to build the highway system, and therefore should be entitled to the full use of that system.
HOV lanes depend on congestion for their appeal and thereby serve as a disincentive to reduce congestion for non-HOV lane users. HOV lanes use valuable highway corridor space that could be used to serve the entire population using that given highway, not just those who carpool or ride buses. “
Infrastructure improvements with stimulus money should be spent to create daily commuter rail service in I-85 GA400 and I-75 corridors ( I am NOT talking MARTA ). Boston, New York and Washington have this service subsidized at everyone’s expense. Ask anyone who travels the MASS PIKE about paying tolls every day! Smart GA politicians should be pushing this already!