Opinion: I-85’s reopened, Georgians deserve thanks for their patience, work

Traffic builds on the first Monday morning commute since the I-85 reopening. JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM

Traffic builds on the first Monday morning commute since the I-85 reopening. JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM

To all affected by the Interstate 85 closure:

On behalf of the women and men of the Georgia Department of Transportation: Thank You!

Thank you for your patience during the past six weeks. Without a doubt, your lives have been affected in many ways – especially if you are one of the over 240,000 drivers who travel I-85 every day. Thank you for changing your commute patterns and special thanks for those who chose to use alternate commute options like MARTA, GRTA Xpress and Gwinnett County Transit. Thank you to the first responders who successfully prevented injuries and fatalities the night of the bridge collapse. We are especially thankful to the businesses and residents along the surface streets from Midtown to Buckhead and throughout the northeast metro. You all dealt with an increase in traffic and congestion the likes of which have never before been seen and you handled it well.

Sometimes the worst situations bring out the best in people. I know personally that is the case with this disastrous event, starting with the dedication and commitment of the women and men of GDOT. It was all-hands-on-deck immediately. GDOT personnel worked around the clock in assessing the damage to the existing bridge, designing a replacement and ensuring safety and quality throughout the entire rebuild process. We saw the best from the people of C.W. Matthews Contracting Co. which, without a doubt, exceeded all expectations on rebuilding I-85. We have seen tremendous support from Georgia’s business leaders who provided telework and flexible schedule options to their employees, and we have observed the generosity of local restaurants feeding the construction crews. We have enjoyed unilateral cooperation and partnership from so many, especially the U.S. DOT, Federal Highway Administration, the City of Atlanta, MARTA, GRTA and Gwinnett County Transit. I am confident in saying that we’ve all experienced the very best from all involved.

Closing a major interstate like I-85 for six weeks revealed how much our state relies on our transportation infrastructure. Now that I-85 is once again open to traffic, the question we face is this: Where do we go from here? I’m proud to tell you that GDOT is already well “down the road” in comprehensive planning for Georgia’s current and future transportation needs.

GDOT is focused on building a connected transportation system that addresses the long-range needs of our citizens and businesses through innovative mobility investments and improvements such as additional Georgia Express Lanes, collector-distributor lanes, interchange reconstruction, flyovers and ramp extensions, and barrier-separated lanes for trucks along the busiest freight corridor in Georgia. Over the long term, this work will help to create additional capacity, improve the movement of freight, provide operational improvements and efficiencies, enhance safety and decrease travel times.

The department continues to seek efficient and effective ways to be the best stewards of Georgia taxpayer dollars. The recent use of the Design, Build, Finance (DBF) approach for the I-285/Ga400 reconstruction project reduced the cost of the project by almost $400 million. The DBF approach allows for expedited delivery of projects by allowing the design builder to help initially fund a project to help get construction started while public funding is getting approved. We will continue to look to this and other public-private financing methods to find competitive and resourceful solutions to address our transportation needs.

Thank you all for doing your part and making the best of this situation. Your positive attitude and patience throughout this process has allowed Georgia to be the example others look to for guidance in similar situations. As we look to the future together, know that your Department of Transportation is already hard at work to meet Georgia’s transportation needs.

Thank you for everything Georgia, and please be safe in your travels.