Georgia Receives Historic Loan for GA 400 Express Lanes

FULTON COUNTY, Ga. – The U.S. Department of Transportation announced it is providing Georgia with a multi-million-dollar loan to add express lanes on Georgia 400 and enhance MARTA operations in the area.

The loan—up to $3.8 billion—will be awarded to a partnership between the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT), the State Road and Tollway Authority, and State Route 400 Peach Partners. New lanes will be added in both directions along a 16-mile stretch of Georgia 400.

The goal of the project is to improve traffic flow between the MARTA North Springs Station at Exit 5C in Fulton County and Exit 12 in Forsyth County. Peach Partners will also contribute $75 million toward future bus rapid transit (BRT) improvements. MARTA will operate the future BRT system, which is expected to share the express lanes for approximately 12 miles.

Anyone with a Peach Pass will be able to use the lanes, which will operate similarly to existing express lanes on Interstates 75, 85, and 285. The project includes a $3.8 billion concession fee from Peach Partners to GDOT, which can be used to help fund other roadway projects as part of the public-private partnership agreement to design, build, finance, operate, and maintain the express lanes.

The project is expected to be mostly complete by 2031. GDOT has posted renderings of the lanes on its YouTube channel for public viewing.

This project is expected to save Atlanta commuters a total of 19,000 minutes per day—about 15 minutes per traveler, according to the DOT. Notably, this is reportedly the largest loan ever awarded to a single borrower by the Department of Transportation.