Drivers lament loss of Georgia 400 flex lanes

FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — Many drivers who deal with Georgia 400 on a daily basis fear the closure of the “flex lanes” will make their commute worse.

Starting in 2012, the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) opened the shoulders of the northbound and southbound lanes to traffic during rush hour, but that practice is now in the rearview mirror.

Between Pitts Road and Holcomb Bridge Road, orange barrels block the lanes to allow for the replacement of three bridges.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

The bridge work is part of a Georgia 400 makeover that will include express toll lanes, which are designed to ease congestion

“I know it can be good work, but it does cause some headaches,’ Jay Patterson, who drives Georgia 400 regularly, told Channel 2′s Bryan Mims.

Patterson appreciates the future improvements to the highway but laments the loss of a lane.

“It does help people who are trying to get off on the exit and things like that, so if they can’t use it for that, then it might actually make it worse for people driving in the other lanes,” Patterson said.

Work on the three bridges is expected to be completed in 2025.

GDOT has not yet announced a construction timeline for the express toll lanes.

A spokesperson said the agency plans to select a company to build and operate the lanes later this year.

TRENDING STORIES:

• Drug dealer charged with improperly disposing body of missing Walton County father in Baton Rouge
• Georgia college student killed while on spring break in Miami, family says
• 2 dead after crash involving ambulance, SUV on busy SW Atlanta road

“It’s a nightmare every single day,” Kenneth Quann said of Georgia 400.

He said losing the flex lanes is sure to add to his daily commute.

“It makes everyone who would be in those lanes shift into the main flow of traffic, which slows it up even more,” Quann said. “I guess that gives me something else to be patient about on my way home every day.”

GDOT said the flex lanes were never meant to be a permanent solution to Georgia 400 congestion.

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]

The agency said the toll lanes will serve as a more effective relief valve.

For Nikkita Padgett, another Georgia 400 regular, all the orange barrels in the flex lanes has her seeing red.

“That’s awful because that’s more traffic,” Padgett said. “We need as many lanes as possible because the way traffic is right now, we’re barely making it to work.”

IN OTHER NEWS:

Cherokee County police investigating after antisemitic flyers found tossed throughout subdivision Neighbors said they woke up Sunday morning to find the flyers with hate-filled messages towards Jewish people.

©2022 Cox Media Group