The new interchange at Interstate 285 and Ga. Highway 400 will be a towering tangle of bridges and flyovers linking two of the busiest roads in the city with a new series of collector-distributor access lanes. Projected to cost more than $1 billion, the project has been floated since the 1990s and isn't expected to be completed until 2020. The plan is for the new configuration to alleviate traffic and provide an alternative to the current weave-and-veer strategy used by many who navigate the interchange, but the good news doesn't end there. Officials recently announced that provisions will be made to carry a pedestrian trail through the thick of the chaos. The announcement comes as an exciting addition to what many feared would be the ultimate trail-block to connecting PATH400 to the northern suburbs.
In a sign that the times are changing in Atlanta, the announcement comes as other multi-use trails are popping up across the city. While the Beltline is the most transformative infrastructure in town, a range of paths along the northern perimeter could provide a means for lycra-inclined Atlantans to funnel from the suburbs into the city on two wheels.
According to Reporter Newspapers, Sandy Springs Assistant General Manager Bryant Poole indicated the trail would connect Peachtree-Dunwoody and Johnson Ferry roads — which is about as clear as mud, given that Johnson Ferry exists on three sides of the interchange and actually intersects with Peachtree-Dunwoody — providing what one would assume is north-south inter-connectivity across I-285. Though the details are murky, the article indicates that stakeholders for the City of Sandy Springs, the Perimeter Center Improvement District and the PATH Foundation are happy with the progress, so that's reassuring.
With $4 to 5 million from the PATH Foundation and Georgia DOT, and another million coming from the City of Sandy Springs, it's a positive sign that the area is beginning to understand the importance of investing in infrastructure beyond just roadways.
· New PATH to be included in Ga. 400/I-285 project [Reporter Newspapers]
· Details Emerge for $1B, GDOT-Orchestrated Traffic Jam [Curbed Atlanta]
· Proposed Trail Could Connect North Side to Buckhead, Beltline [Curbed Atlanta]
· New Multi-Use Trails: "Hey, Beltline, We're on the Right Path" [Curbed Atlanta]
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