Georgia seeks to spend $1.8 billion to unclog Interstate 75

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia’s governor said Wednesday that he wants to spend $1.8 billion to unclog one of traffic-choked Atlanta’s notorious chokepoints on the most important highway between the Midwest and Florida.

Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, serving his last year in office, says he wants to spend $1.8 billion to build additional toll express lanes on Interstate 75 in Atlanta’s southern suburbs. Right now, 12 miles (19 kilometers) of I-75 in Henry and Clayton counties have reversible express lanes, but Kemp is proposing the state build a lane in each direction.

While some states have turned to transit and other options, Kemp says Georgia has to keep building highways to promote economic growth in Atlanta, Georgia’s economic engine. After a decline during the pandemic, congestion has returned in force in the metro area of more than 6 million people. The state is already spending to build other toll lanes and rebuild major interchanges on Interstate 285, Atlanta’s loop highway.

“These issues are also undermining our economic development prospects, with business leaders questioning whether their workers will want to live and commute in that environment,” Kemp said. “When it comes to traffic congestion, we can’t let our competitors have the upper hand.”

Kemp said more toll lanes could increase traffic throughput on I-75 by as much as 70%.

Kemp told Georgia Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium that he’s proposing that legislators approve a total of $2.4 billion more in infrastructure spending. The money would come in an amendment to the current year’s budget, drawing on Georgia’s $9 billion in surplus cash.

That would also include $200 million to continue improving Georgia 316, a highway between Atlanta and Kemp’s hometown of Athens. The state has been turning the four-lane highway into an access-controlled freeway, and Kemp says he wants to building “a true, safe expressway.”

Kemp said he also wants to distribute an additional $250 million to local governments for road improvements, $100 million to improve bridges and rural communities and $35 million to extend natural gas lines in rural areas.