COBB COUNTY, Ga. — The state broke ground on a new road construction project Wednesday in an effort to alleviate congestion on I-75.
The Northwest Corridor Express Lanes project will be the state’s second most costly road construction project.
Construction will create two new reversible lanes along the west side of I-75 between I-285 and Hickory Grove Road. The lanes will run nearly 30 miles to Sixes Road in Cherokee County.
It's estimated it will take four years to complete the lanes.
Channel 2’s Liz Artz spoke to commuters who feel four years of construction will only make the commute worse and will not have a big enough pay-off.
“I'll have to deal with four years of construction and traffic is already bad enough on 75,” one commuter told Artz.
The new lanes will be toll roads and optional for drivers. They are estimated to shave anywhere from five to 43 minutes off commute times.
“I already pay taxes so I don't want to pay to use a lane,” said Vikki Bell.
Bell lives in Fulton County and drives into Cobb County daily for work. She says she won’t pay the toll and, like other drivers, fears no one else will either.
“If it's 20 that don't want to pay, the commute is going to be awful,” said another commuter.
DOT spokeswoman Natalie Dale says the state looked to other cities, like Houston, that have reversible lanes. She said within Georgia’s budget this was the best option to alleviate congestion.
“Building a double-decker interstate, that's just not feasible for us,” said Dale. “We have to look at the money we have, doing the most with the money we have."
The DOT does not have an estimate of how much the tolls will cost, but says it will vary depending on how heavily the road is traveled.
It hopes to do most of the work on nights and weekends to eliminate any major congestion issues.