Georgia DOT eyes tunnel, double-deck for Downtown Connector (Macon, Gainesville: costs, rail)

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by afdinatl

Just add about 5 lanes each way on the top of the connector for traffic that it just passing through Atlanta

That's what 285 is for, a bypass of Atlanta.

[afdinatl]

Originally Posted by cqholt

That's what 285 is for, a bypass of Atlanta.

True but visitors need to see our beautiful skyline by driving through downtown

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by afdinatl

True but visitors need to see our beautiful skyline by driving through downtown

They can Google it or make a stop and spend money.

[afdinatl]

Originally Posted by cqholt

They can Google it or make a stop and spend money.

True ...

[cabasse]

Originally Posted by afdinatl

True but visitors need to see our beautiful skyline by driving through downtown

our city is worth more than just being seen from a rapidly moving car on a freeway. honestly it's not that cool just being able to see a fleeting glance of it, from inside the car (while dodging cars or sitting in traffic)

[arjay57]

I would love to see more HOV/HOT lanes on the connector. Carpooling can take tons of cars off the road.

As for HOT lanes, put the burden on the user rather than the taxpayers in general.

[MattCW]

The simplest fix that does need to happen regardless of any transit expansion is more HOV ramps between Freedom Parkway and I-20 inclusive. There are too many people moving all the way over in both directions which leads to conflicts which leads to congestion.

Now, the rest of it can be handled by transit, there's simply no excuse. For the amount of money spent on an elevated structure, or a tunnel, they could fully build-out an electrified commuter rail network (like what Denver is doing) to all cities within 40 miles plus Gainesville and Athens, plus expand MARTA's HRT significantly and build the Clifton Corridor. All but the Clifton corridor would significantly benefit the downtown connector.

[bu2]

Originally Posted by Gulch

Like every other "grand proposal," this will end up sitting on a shelf (with the possible exception of the 15th Street HOV exit).

Sounds like they are just brainstorming and coming up with a big list of possibilities. Houston is doing the exact same thing with their study on I-45 through downtown-everything from tearing it down and making a 4 lane parkway to rebuilding in place to moving to east of downtown where I-69 runs.

[jsvh]

More highway lanes are not the fix. Making the highway double-decker, wider, or a "big dig" type project will be a non-starter. And GDOT's attempt to push a parallel highway I-485 through the in-town neighborhoods has already been tried.

Capping the connector is the only financially reasonable major project but is not going to get you any additional capacity.

The best solution is more transportation options for people. The solution to eliminating traffic is congestion tolling. Given that the Federal government recently changed the laws to allow tolls on Interstates, it now becomes possible for congestion based tolling on the connector that would fund transit options (and maintenance of the existing highway).

[Tryska]

"We're gonna need a bigger road."

(So that we can re-visit this problem and throw more money at it 20 years from now)