The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) and the State Road and Tollway Authority (SRTA) selected SR 400 Peach Partners to design and build 16 miles of express lane in Atlanta, as well as maintain and operate the toll lanes for 50 years.
Design and construction is expected to cost $4.6 billion, according to GDOT, which, along with the SRTA, used a best-value procurement method, scoring technical approaches and financial proposals to select SR 400 Peach Partners, a consortium of ACS Infrastructure, Meridiam, Acciona. Concessions, Acciona Construction, Dragados and Parsons.
Through the public-private partnership, SR 400 Peach Partners will design, build, finance, operate and maintain the express lanes in accordance with contractual parameters set by GDOT and SRTA, an approach that GDOT says reduces the amount of public funding needed from of the private sector. will finance the project.
Construction is expected to begin in late 2025, with substantial completion expected by 2031.
In announcing its selection on Aug. 15, GDOT said that “the team members at SR 400 Peach Partners have an extensive track record of successfully delivering these types of projects such as SH-288 in Houston, I-66 Outside the Beltway in Northern Virginia. and North Tarrant Expressway in Dallas.”
SR 400 Peach Partners will make a concession payment to the state of $4.05 billion and deliver the project through a combination of financing methods, GDOT says.
The project will add new express lanes in both directions along approximately 16 miles of SR 400 from the North Springs MARTA station at Exit 5C in Fulton County to 1 mile north of McFarland Parkway at Exit 12 in County of Forsyth. Like the existing express lanes, the new lanes will have variable-price tolls that give drivers an option to avoid congestion, according to GDOT.
“SR 400 has been an integral part of the region’s transportation network for more than five decades,” says Jannine Miller, GDOT director of planning and executive director of SRTA and the Transit Link Authority of the Atlanta region, in a statement. “As the state’s economy and population have grown, so has transit in this critical part of the region … and transit users will have a new option to experience a reliable and high-tech on one of Atlanta’s most congested roads.”
ACS Infra, Acciona Conesiones and Meridiam will develop and finance the project, with Dragados and Acciona Construccion building the lanes and Parsons designing, according to ACS Group, which says the project has an approximate construction period of five and a half years.
Acciona says the project will use a dynamic toll system to improve traffic flow, a “pioneering system whereby the amount to be paid by the driver varies depending on the volume of traffic on the motorway, allowing vehicles to access lanes of additional tolls and thus reduce traffic jams and polluting emissions”.
GDOT says that over the next year before construction begins, SR400 Peach Partners will complete final conceptual designs, environmental reassessments and secure the necessary funding and permits as it continues to purchase property for the necessary right-of-way.
The project will be financed, according to ACS Group, with a combination of equity and debt that will include a TIFIA loan from the US Department of Transportation and the issuance of taxable and tax-exempt bonds in the capital markets.
SR 400 Peach Partners will also contribute $26 million to support the construction of two bus rapid transit (BRT) stations at Holcomb Bridge Road and North Point Mall as part of the project, which includes a $100 million state bond of dollars for the main components of the Metropolitan. Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) BRT line, which will run for free in the express lanes.
In addition to the new express lanes on SR 400, the project will deploy another 0.9-mile express lane in each direction from McGinnis Ferry Road to McFarland Parkway, and rehabilitate the Pitts Road, Roberts Drive and Kimball Bridge bridges, according to Acciona, and regeneration. environmental and social impact measures.
According to GDOT, the area will have 144,000 more residents and 114,000 more jobs by 2050. Citing its 2009 State Transportation Strategic Plan, GDOT says adding express lanes to metro Atlanta’s roadways is the most effective way to ensure reliable access to workplaces for commuters by car and public transport.
