ATLANTA — Nearly 200,000 vehicles a day drive on Interstate 285 on the westside of metro Atlanta. But construction will begin soon on rebuilding a huge section of the perimeter from Cobb County into South Fulton County.
Channel 2’s Steve Gehlbach looked into how the project should make your ride smoother and safe.
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The entire west wall of I-285 was completed nearly 60 years ago. Much of the substructure though has never been replaced. It’s starting to show its age.
Over the years, Channel 2 Action News has reported on crumbling concrete and large holes opening up in the pavement on the westside, including one near the Langford Parkway.
“I’m telling you that hole so big, couple more trucks hit that spot, that bridge fixin’ to open up,” a neighbor told us back in 2022.
Then again on Monday morning, Georgia State Patrol said a pothole is to blame for a major wreck in the same corridor.
“They covered this hole up right here. They said he hit this and I guess that throws the truck out of control,” said a driver who was stuck in traffic.
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But the Georgia Department of Transportation just announced plans for a 3-year, $370 million project to rebuild more than 15 miles on I-285 from Paces Ferry Road in Cobb County to South Fulton Parkway.
That section of the perimeter, built in the late 1960s, needs a full reconstruction after decades of heavy truck and freight traffic.
“285’s a bunch of potholes…they get in trouble running 3-4th lane over, but that’s the smoothest lanes we got," truck driver Jacob Parsons said.
GDOT will also replace the shoulders, concrete median barriers and guard rails along with bridges and 17 new overpasses to handle the traffic.
There will be some pain to make progress. Drivers can expect lane closures and detours, but GDOT expects most closures will happen at night and on the weekends.
GDOT will start construction this year with a completion date set for the end of 2029.
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