The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) released a timeline for the construction of truck-only lanes along the I-75 corridor.
GDOT recently released a projected timeline for the I-75 Commercial Vehicle Lanes (CVL) project after soliciting public comments.
Officials say that the project design will be finalized and construction will begin in 2027. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2032.
The project involves the construction of two barrier-separated commercial vehicle-only lanes along northbound I-75 from the I-75/I-475 Interchange in Monroe County ending near the State Route (SR) 20 Interchange in Henry County.
The CVL would span 41 miles across Henry, Spalding, Butts, Lamar, and Monroe counties.
Officials say that there will be no toll for use of the I-75 CVL.
GDOT hosted listening sessions and also accepted online comments from the public about the project. Of the 132 comments received, 57 were in support of the project, 35 expressed conditional support, 19 were opposed, and 21 were uncommitted.
GDOT received comments asking the agency to include professional truck drivers in the planning process. GDOT responded by noting that “coordination between the project team and transportation organizations will be important throughout the life of the project and will enhance the collaborative nature of the outreach efforts.”
Other commenters were concerned about the backup of traffic into the CVL ramps and how traffic will merge at the end of the CVL.
See below for GDOT’s response.
“Two new lanes are proposed to be added for the exclusive use of trucks. It is anticipated that 73% to 100% of trucks traveling to destinations within the project limits will be moved from the general purpose lanes to the new commercial vehicle lanes, depending on their specific location within the corridor. Approximately 27% of trucks entering the CVL in Macon are expected to exit to their destination prior to McDonough. The proposed project would ease congestion by better managing interactions between passenger and commercial vehicles. This in turn will improve the reliability of the corridor and reduce travel time for trucks and passenger cars.
Traffic safety analysis for the Build alternative shows that the proposed northern merge area up to SR 155 has lower estimated crashes than the No-Build alternative. Due to more channelized traffic flow, there will be less weaving at the merge area resulting in potentially fewer crashes in the Build alternative. Further, north of SR 155, there is no significant difference between estimated crashes as the volumes and geometries are generally the same. A proposed auxiliary lane between SR 155 and SR 20 will further improve traffic operations in this segment. An auxiliary lane is an extra lane on a highway, typically located on the right side, that connects an entrance ramp to the next exit ramp. It gives drivers a dedicated space to accelerate, decelerate, or merge safely without disrupting the flow of main through-traffic. Capacity analysis indicates that operational issues are not anticipated at the CVL merge location.“
The video below provides additional details on how the I-75 CVL will operate when the project is complete.
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