Should more lanes be added to the downtown connector (Atlanta: homes, neighborhood)

[bu2]

I guess its been so long since Atlanta did freeway construction, a bunch of you don't know what is possible. There is plenty of space for 4 lanes. Immediately downtown near the capitol would be the only tricky part.

Now, unless they were separate express lanes, it would be a total waste of money. There are diminishing returns once a freeway gets a certain width. And if they were doing express lanes, I'd rather see a separate road west of downtown, effectively separating I-85 and I-75, rather than forcing more traffic through that same corridor.

[jsvh]

Nope.

This idea has been tried in Atlanta already (See "Freeing the Freeways"). It was a failure. Traffic is as bad as ever.

[bu2]

Originally Posted by jsvh

Nope.

This idea has been tried in Atlanta already (See "Freeing the Freeways"). It was a failure. Traffic is as bad as ever.

We've got nearly twice as many people as we did last time Atlanta added freeway lanes.

[afdinatl]

I wonder how traffic would be if 75 and 85 didn't combine? They would have been separate but close to each other with 12 lanes for 75 and 12 lanes for 85

[bu2]

Originally Posted by afdinatl

I wonder how traffic would be if 75 and 85 didn't combine? They would have been separate but close to each other with 12 lanes for 75 and 12 lanes for 85

I think that was the biggest mistake Atlanta ever made on transportation. They went cheap and funneled too much traffic into one space.

[atl1221]

The I-20 interchange needs to be fixed first. In fact, that interchange is a huge part of why that road backs up in the first place.

[onemanarmy]

I think they should toll the connector, because there is adequate alternative transportation into the city. They also should make it very expensive to go from 285 to 285 in a single trip. 285 is a "bypass" for a reason.

[atler8]

No. Absolutely not!
I ride on the connector every day via a commuter bus which also takes me onto various city streets that often overlook or run parallel to the connector. I get a really good look at the space already used for the roadway as well as the adjacent spaces by virtue of my method of transport.
In downtown & in midtown it is not just near the capitol building that it would be virtually impossible to widen the connector but also through multiple other single tight squeeze points & general areas as well.
The stacking of the connector as a relief option should have been seriously investigated by the GDOT decades ago.
FYI: Atlanta did not make the choice in the 1950's as to where the interstate routes would go, by the way. The system was outlined & developed by the federal government & was named The Dwight Eisenhower System for a very good reason.
And what we have today in the form of a combined 85/75 in the city was not done as a means of being "cheap" & to save money. The general lay of the national routes was laid out with what was the best available means of traffic planning that were available then combined w/ state dot input.
I've seen vintage photos & video of the connector showing the old rush hour traffic. The volume was very light then as compared to that of today. So, it effectively served it's original purpose rather well early on.
No one could have ever foreseen the multitude of traffic volume that we know of here today.

[lem1985]

Originally Posted by onemanarmy

I think they should toll the connector, because there is adequate alternative transportation into the city. They also should make it very expensive to go from 285 to 285 in a single trip. 285 is a "bypass" for a reason.

ahh....no

[lem1985]

Naw