Showman PT Barnum’s adage of “there’s no such thing as bad publicity” may be true in some fields, but it’s certainly not something a state transportation agency wants.
For example, the I-285/I-20 East interchange in Dekalb County, east of Atlanta, had stood out for years in a fast-growing region full of corridor capacity challenges. As a nexus for a mandatory bypass route for commercial vehicles in the metro area, the interchange’s outdated ramp geometries and other deficiencies were no longer sufficient to effectively handle ever-increasing traffic volumes on two busy interstates. Over time, the interchange’s reputation has become more well-known, including the recent dubious distinction of placing 14th on the American Transportation Research Institute’s 2025 list of the nation’s top 100 trucking bottlenecks.
The revamped I-285/I-20 East Interchange should greatly reduce bottlenecks.
Photo courtesy of Georgia Department of Transportation
The Georgia Department of Transportation had long recognized that solving the problems at the I-285/I-20 East interchange would be neither easy nor inexpensive, especially given the extensive structural work needed to modernize ramp configurations and add capacity without creating short-term mobility problems in the process. By the end of 2026, however, the long, troubled intersection will be one of the safest and most efficient interchanges in the state, thanks to a four-year, $692 million reconstruction effort that is creating wider, realigned ramps; new collector-distributor lanes; and auxiliary lanes for merging westbound and northbound traffic.
“They can guide impactful changes that result in maximum benefit.”
—Greg Munna, Senior Project Manager, East Interchange Builders, discussing the Archer Western/ER Snell project team
Because the interchange reconfiguration is part of GDOT’s Major Mobility Investment (MMI) program, a collection of high-priority improvements delivered through alternative delivery methods, the agency was able to use design-build-finance (DBF) project delivery. GDOT has previously used the public-private partnership variation in other MMIP efforts, including the I-75/I-575 Northwest Corridor express lanes and the Transform 285/400 project.
Beau Quarles, GDOT project manager, says the DBF delivery model was a good fit for the scope, cost, risks and accelerated schedule of the I-285/I-20 East interchange.
The project included the phased construction of an I-20 main bridge over Snapfinger Creek.
Photo courtesy of Georgia Department of Transportation
“In addition to limiting traffic disruptions for motorists, a critical consideration at this interchange, we could leverage the private sector’s ability to raise capital to advance a project that would otherwise await state or federal funding,” he says. “There were also opportunities to save project costs and improve system quality and performance through the use of innovative materials and management techniques.”
The East Interchange Builders Consortium (EIB), led by two of Georgia’s largest transportation contractors, Archer Western Construction LLC and ER Snell Contractor Inc., brought the added benefit of familiarity with the agency, project delivery processes and the interchange’s many complexities.
“The team at Archer Western and ER Snell are very familiar with the existing interchange, both companies have staff who have lived in the area for decades and travel through these corridors,” says Greg Munna, EIB Senior Project Manager. This familiarity also helps the design team, consisting of lead designer Infrastructure Consulting & Engineering working with sub-consultants Arcadis, STV Inc. and Raba Kistner.
“They can guide impactful changes that result in maximum benefit for travelers,” says Munna.
The $692 million reconstruction is creating wider, realigned ramps; new collector-distributor lanes; and auxiliary lanes for merging westbound and northbound traffic.
Photo courtesy of Georgia Department of Transportation
Strategies for success
Looking ahead to the start of construction in 2023, the EIB team invested in an extensive pre-construction planning process that would allow the work to be carried out as efficiently and safely as possible, while maintaining traffic in a way that would not exacerbate the interchange’s existing headaches. To keep the project on schedule, for example, Quarles says the project was broken down into manageable design packages. For each, he says, “the project team set key dates and held themselves accountable from all sides to make sure the project moved forward as planned.”
The schedule also helped the team plan for detours and traffic closures once work began to integrate new infrastructure elements into the interchange complex, including the phased construction of a new I-20 main bridge over Snapfinger Creek. The team was able to consolidate the main tasks into a short-term and a long-term detour to speed progress and minimize congestion on both interstates and surface streets. Full interstate closures, when necessary, would be limited to nights and weekends.
For the interchange bridges, the project team used 8-foot-diameter, 10-foot-diameter drilled shaft foundations for each bridge pier instead of a two-column bent structure.
Photo courtesy of Georgia Department of Transportation
A design feature that would prove critical in helping speed interchange bridge construction was the use of a single 8-foot-diameter, 10-foot-diameter drilled shaft foundation for each bridge pier, rather than a bent two-column structure.
Single-column foundation shafts “offered the advantages of a reduced base area.”
—Beau Quarles, Project Manager, Georgia DOT
The foundation shafts, which reached depths of up to 116 feet, “offered the benefits of a reduced footing area and eliminated the excavation support efforts that would otherwise have been required for a traditional pile cap design,” Quarles says, adding that the initial preparation has paid off in nearly four years of relatively trouble-free construction. In fact, the only real surprises were some undocumented utility lines and a few isolated areas of unsuitable material considered to be the result of subsurface conditions.
“These locations were identified and plan changes were incorporated quickly to keep the pace of the project,” says Quarles.
The project’s DBF structure offered other advantages to help the EIB team manage the still-volatile material costs. Exercising an option to select material indexing adjustments for seven commodities, the BEI chose to index asphalt cement and steel H-piles for the nearly 757,000 linear feet of noise walls.
Quarles notes that while some minor supply chain issues arose, “the team developed detailed schedules with suppliers to ensure material dates were understood well in advance of the delivery date.”
The exchange in an initial phase of the reconstruction project.
Photo courtesy of Georgia Department of Transportation
Consistent connections
According to GDOT, with major project milestones completed and more in the coming months, the reconstruction has been successful in staying on schedule while navigating weather and other challenges. Along the way, the BEI team installed more than 30,600 linear feet of concrete beams and 10,000 linear feet of steel beams, poured concrete for nearly 11,400 cubic yards of bridge decks, and erected nearly 117,000 square feet of mechanically stabilized earth walls.
Perhaps the most essential ingredient to the project’s success, says Quarles, has been the ongoing efforts to facilitate communication across the team. Co-locating project leadership, for example, helped align goals, identify potential bottlenecks and areas of potential conflict, while facilitating and fostering information sharing and collaboration.
A comprehensive construction phase strategy has helped minimize traffic disruptions throughout the project.
Photo courtesy of Georgia Department of Transportation
“This helped us share information, discuss issues and make timely decisions to keep the project moving forward without any delays,” he explains. “Having a strong GDOT representative on hand helped make timely decisions instead of creating bottlenecks.”
“Having a strong GDOT representative on hand helped make timely decisions.”
—Beau Quarles, Project Manager, Georgia DOT
Because potential conflicts are inevitable in any construction project, the I-285/I-20 East interchange marked GDOT’s first use of a three-member dispute resolution board (DRB), chaired by an attorney with representatives from GDOT and BEI, charged with resolving technical issues as well as handling potential claims or disputes over time or money.
“Each member has extensive experience in claims and mediation, design and management of major projects,” Quarles says, adding that the panel “has served as a successful prototype for future major projects across the state.”
It was no less important to alert the traveling public to construction-related changes in road conditions. “Communication was done early and often,” says GDOT spokesman Kyle Collins. “Public meetings, social and traditional media coverage, and weekly traffic impact updates are just some of the tools we’ve used.”
The revamped interchange improves on the old trefoil design with gradually curved overpasses and fewer traffic conflict points.
Photo courtesy of Georgia Department of Transportation
Elements of the reconfigured interchange are expected to be in service through the remainder of 2026. New collector-distributor lanes and overpass bridges connecting westbound I-20 to I-285 will open this spring, as will the new I-285-to-I-20 eastbound connector lane and the I-20 mainline I-20 bridge. Construction of noise walls, site restoration and other work will continue through the summer and fall.
Munna has high praise for the collaboration throughout the project and the project delivery model that made it possible. He calls the project “a great example of the public-private partnership model and how, through teamwork and coordination with GDOT, we worked hard to deliver a stunning new interchange on time to a corridor that needed a critical upgrade.”
Quarles agrees. “The EIB has been a great partner in this project. At the end of the day, their success is GDOT’s success.”
