Good news for Sandy Springs commuters – a long-awaited new interchange on Georgia 400 opened earlier this month. Commuters are now able to travel between Hammond Drive and the busy state highway, just north of the GA-400/I-285 interchange.
The new interchange project, which provides a north entrance from Hammond Drive onto GA 400 and a south exit from Georgia 400 onto Hammond Drive, was made possible by a partnership between the Perimeter Community Improvement Districts and the Georgia Department of Transportation. One of the Perimeter Community Improvement Districts’ goals has been to improve access to the Perimeter/Hammond Drive area, one of metro Atlanta’s major job centers, and the opening of this interchange will do just that.
As many Perimeter area motorists know, a new interchange has been needed for some time, as was confirmed by a 2008 study by Georgia DOT. Until now, the only connection between GA 400 and the Perimeter Center area has been the Abernathy Road interchange.
The project is part of the Hammond Half-Diamond Interchange, which will replace the current four-lane overpass with a higher, nine lane bridge and is a great example of the success of public and private sector partnerships. Georgia DOT, the Perimeter Community Improvement Districts and the city of Sandy Springs all contributed financially to the interchange. Georgia DOT applied $12 million for the bridge, the Perimeter Community Improvement Districts provided $5 million for the ramps and the city of Sandy Springs spent $150,000on lighting, fencing and other improvements.
The new interchange will improve motorists’ safety and ease traffic flow in an extremely congested area of metro Atlanta; and the Perimeter Community Improvement Districts hope that it will increase Perimeter area residential and commercial development and job growth, as well.
The ramps are part of the nearly $18 million Hammond Half-Diamond Interchange project, which also features a new, wider Hammond Drive bridge across the highway.
Have you tried out the new ramps? How much time is it cutting off of your commute? Let us know what you think!