A federal loan of up to $3.89 billion will be used to add express lanes along a 16-mile section of Georgia 400 in Forsyth and Fulton counties.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy said Tuesday the money is earmarked for a public-private partnership involving the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT), the State Road and Tollway Authority (SRTA), and SR 400 Peach Partners, LLC (Peach Partners).
The project will add new lanes in both directions from MARTA’s North Springs Station to one mile north of McFarland Parkway. While facilitating current MARTA and XPress bus connections, Peach Partners will also provide $75 million in future bus rapid transit (BRT) related improvements. MARTA will operate the future BRT system, which is expected to share the express lanes for approximately 12 miles.
The project calls for Peach Partners to provide a $3.8 billion concession fee to GDOT that can help fund other roadway projects as part of the public-private partnership agreement to design, build, finance, operate, and maintain the express lanes.
The project is expected to reduce delays by over 19,000 hours each day, or about 15 minutes per traveler, due to less idling and traffic congestion.