GA-400 & Exit 10/Old Milton Pkwy Traffic Nightmares (Atlanta, Roswell: middle school, gated)

[bravomey]

Originally Posted by capoeira

How about getting off two exits early to avoid the Exit 10 backup. This route might help. Getting off one exit early might also work better depending on traffic.

https://goo.gl/maps/ETRhYDLmEiTjzB4bA

Thank you for the advice, I will give this route a try in the AM and see if it takes much longer. If it doesn't, I may use this alternate in order to avoid the Exit 10 ramp.

[walker1962]

Originally Posted by arjay57

I like the way they do some of those roads in Dallas, where you have a bunch of access-type roads running alongside the freeway with more access points.

Actually, in some states like Texas, frontage/access roads are a standard highway design that merchants favor because it gives consumers quick easy on/easy off access. It helps most imo when accidents shut down multiple highway lanes and you can exit, travel quickly to the next entry point, without much deviation from one's original route.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by capoeira

How about getting off two exits early to avoid the Exit 10 backup. This route might help. Getting off one exit early might also work better depending on traffic.

https://goo.gl/maps/ETRhYDLmEiTjzB4bA

Originally Posted by bravomey

Thank you for the advice, I will give this route a try in the AM and see if it takes much longer. If it doesn't, I may use this alternate in order to avoid the Exit 10 ramp.

Since the Old Milton Parkway route gives you trouble, I might would first try capoeira’s suggestion of exiting off of GA-400 northbound two exits earlier (at Exit 8, Mansell Road), and then using Mansell Road eastbound to North Point Parkway northbound to Encore Parkway westbound to Westside Parkway/Morrison Parkway/Westside Parkway northbound to Avalon during the morning commute before trying to use the Old Milton Parkway route again.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by bravomey

Thanks for the advice, I will give this route another try. I will say that PIB/GA-141 is usually quick and painless, but it hasn't been the same with GA-120/Old Milton Pkwy from my experience. In the afternoon, t seems to always back up all the way from GA-400 to Kimball Bridge Rd and then again approaching the shared school zone you mention.

Old Milton just seems like a headache all around. Do you think maybe taking Old Alabama Rd to GA-141 might be a better alternate?

You could try using Old Alabama Road. Though the challenge with using Old Alabama Road is that it has only one through travel lane in each direction for some significant stretches while also going directly through at least one school zone at Autrey Mill Middle School... A school zone that is located along a stretch of Old Alabama Road that only has one through travel lane for each direction of the roadway.

Old Alabama Road also runs very close to and/or directly through two other school zones at Mount Pigsah Christian School and at Holy Redeemer Catholic School.

Originally Posted by bravomey

Also, is the dearth of alternative routes through this area (as you noted) mainly because of the Chattahoochee River? For example, another alternate route I tried is Barnwell Rd, but that backs up to GA-140 and then left on Holcomb Bridge can be a nightmare through Spalding Drive. It would make it a lot easier if there were a connector road that ran from Jones Bridge straight to 141. Same with if there were a connector from Riverside Rd to Spalding Drive. It almost seems as if the Chattahoochee serves as some kind of unofficial divider that prevents any roads from running North to South in between GA 400/GA-140 and then between GA-140/GA-120.

There are multiple reasons for the dearth of alternative routes through that area, starting with the presence of the Chattahoochee River, which has both environmentally protected zones free of development interspersed with highly affluent areas that are heavily developed with $1 million+ mansions along its river banks.

The local practice of not even discussing transportation infrastructure improvements until decades after tons of development have been permitted in an area in an Atlanta and North Georgia region where residents often can be highly averse and often even openly hostile to the concept of large-scale transportation infrastructure improvements in a highly reactionary political, social and cultural environment also contributes to the dearth of alternative routes through the area.

Because of both the environmental protections along the riverbank (which are wildly popular with much of the metro Atlanta/North Georgia public) and the very large number of highly affluent residents living in upscale residential neighborhoods in the area, the Chattahoochee River corridor is an area where people often are highly sensitive to even just the mere mention of the idea of building new roads through the area.

[Tarzanman]

Originally Posted by bravomey

Thanks for the advice, I will give this route another try. I will say that PIB/GA-141 is usually quick and painless, but it hasn't been the same with GA-120/Old Milton Pkwy from my experience. In the afternoon, t seems to always back up all the way from GA-400 to Kimball Bridge Rd and then again approaching the shared school zone you mention.

Old Milton just seems like a headache all around. Do you think maybe taking Old Alabama Rd to GA-141 might be a better alternate?

Also, is the dearth of alternative routes through this area (as you noted) mainly because of the Chattahoochee River? For example, another alternate route I tried is Barnwell Rd, but that backs up to GA-140 and then left on Holcomb Bridge can be a nightmare through Spalding Drive. It would make it a lot easier if there were a connector road that ran from Jones Bridge straight to 141. Same with if there were a connector from Riverside Rd to Spalding Drive. It almost seems as if the Chattahoochee serves as some kind of unofficial divider that prevents any roads from running North to South in between GA 400/GA-140 and then between GA-140/GA-120.

I used to live in these areas. One problem is that Hwy 92 (Holcomb Br Rd) and Old Milton/State Br Rd are the only major east-west routes that cross the Chattahoochee. Any new thoroughfare between them would go through lots of country clubs and higher end residential areas (i.e. politically impossible).

As for Chamblee to Alpharetta, there's no good route with 400 being congested. All the side routes have a good bit of traffic and deal with secondary effects of congestion from (drum roll) Holcomb Br Rd and State Br Rd.

Try 141 to State Br Rd to WEbb Br rd to avoid the GA400 on/off traffic. Won't save you any time, but should keep you moving.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by Tarzanman

I used to live in these areas. One problem is that Hwy 92 (Holcomb Br Rd) and Old Milton/State Br Rd are the only major east-west routes that cross the Chattahoochee. Any new thoroughfare between them would go through lots of country clubs and higher end residential areas (i.e. politically impossible).

As for Chamblee to Alpharetta, there's no good route with 400 being congested. All the side routes have a good bit of traffic and deal with secondary effects of congestion from (drum roll) Holcomb Br Rd and State Br Rd.

Try 141 to State Br Rd to WEbb Br rd to avoid the GA400 on/off traffic. Won't save you any time, but should keep you moving.

GA-141 to State Bridge Road (to Kimball Bridge Road to Webb Bridge Way) to Webb Bridge Road (to Westside Parkway) to Avalon is a really good suggestion for the OP to try as an alternative route.

Though, the OP probably should be warned that Webb Bridge Road is a route that will come with its own unique challenges in the form of being a roadway that mostly has only one travel lane in each direction that runs through THREE school zones (Webb Bridge Middle School, Creek View Elementary School, and Alpharetta High School) where traffic often may be significantly slowed and/or even completely stopped on school days during the school year.

The reality of the situation is that there just simply is not enough road space to handle the increasingly heavy amount of traffic being generated by all of the heavy development that is already present and that continues to be built throughout the North Atlanta suburbs, including in the area in question in North Fulton County.

With how heavily developed that area is (and continues to become) on a severely limited/constricted road network, the OP could consider themselves very lucky that they only have a commute time of about 45 minutes each way between their home in Chamblee and their workplace in Alpharetta.

Given the reality of the severe dearth of good alternative routes in that part of the Atlanta metropolitan area, the OP’s best bet may be to try capoeira’s suggestion of exiting GA-400 northbound two exits early (at Mansell Road) and see how that idea works.

It appears that Tarzanman’s suggestion of using Webb Bridge Road to avoid the on/off traffic at the GA-400/GA-120 Old Milton Parkway interchange likely would be best to use on the days that Fulton County Schools are not in session (mostly during summer vacation and during various holidays and vacation periods during the school year).

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by walker1962

Actually, in some states like Texas, frontage/access roads are a standard highway design that merchants favor because it gives consumers quick easy on/easy off access. It helps most imo when accidents shut down multiple highway lanes and you can exit, travel quickly to the next entry point, without much deviation from one's original route.

We could use more of that here.

[vwgto]

Originally Posted by walker1962

Actually, in some states like Texas, frontage/access roads are a standard highway design that merchants favor because it gives consumers quick easy on/easy off access. It helps most imo when accidents shut down multiple highway lanes and you can exit, travel quickly to the next entry point, without much deviation from one's original route.

And produces some of the ugliest and obtrusive highway systems in the Country.

[bryantm3]

Georgia isn't Texas. They are working with cow fields and have the luxury of generally unlimited space. We are working with forests, marshes, rivers, and historic sites— and that is just between exit 6 and 10 on 400. Atlanta may be a car-oriented city but it has limitations that the Texas cities don't have. Atlanta's development pattern is a blend between a Sunbelt city and an East Coast city and our transportation infrastructure should be the same.

[bravomey]

Originally Posted by Tarzanman

I used to live in these areas. One problem is that Hwy 92 (Holcomb Br Rd) and Old Milton/State Br Rd are the only major east-west routes that cross the Chattahoochee. Any new thoroughfare between them would go through lots of country clubs and higher end residential areas (i.e. politically impossible).

As for Chamblee to Alpharetta, there's no good route with 400 being congested. All the side routes have a good bit of traffic and deal with secondary effects of congestion from (drum roll) Holcomb Br Rd and State Br Rd.

Try 141 to State Br Rd to WEbb Br rd to avoid the GA400 on/off traffic. Won't save you any time, but should keep you moving.

Thank you for the advice here. This sounds like a good route, I will try it next week heading home so that I can go behind Avalon and avoid all that surface street congestion in the afternoon.