GDOT Rejects Alpharetta Ideas For Ga. 400 Express Lanes Project

ALPHARETTA, GA — The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) will move forward with its plan to construct dedicated access for its Ga. 400 Express Lanes Project between Webb Bridge Road and Windward Parkway despite a request by the City of Alpharetta to relocate the access point to Encore Parkway.

Shortly after GDOT’s plans for the project were first unveiled in March, Alpharetta officials began expressing concerns that GDOT’s designs were likely to drive significant increases on local roads that are already at or above capacity during peak commute times but offered no solutions or support for handling that increased volume.

"Approximately 41 percent of the project span is within our community, so the strategic implementation of the Ga. 400 Express Lanes Project and location of access and merge points along the corridor will set the course for transportation on our local roads, impact land use within our community, and do much to determine the future quality of life for the residents of Alpharetta for generations," Mayor Jim Gilvin said earlier this month.

Among the most concerning aspects of the state’s proposal was the Webb+ concept, which would create a dedicated access ramp for the Ga. 400 Express Lanes just north of Webb Bridge Road that would connect drivers to and from North Point and Westside Parkways. The concept drew loud cries from Alpharetta residents and consternation from Alpharetta elected officials concerned over impacts to nearby neighborhoods as commuters used two-lane neighborhood collector streets to connect to the regional arterial.

Following several public input sessions and analysis of anticipated traffic impacts of GDOT’s proposed Webb+ concept, in an Aug. 27 letter Gilvin advanced the idea that relocating the access point would be more cost effective while providing better connectivity to regional destinations like office parks, North Point Mall, and the AmerisBank Amphitheater. More importantly from a local perspective, the Encore Parkway location would be better supported by existing and planned road infrastructure and would not have the negative impacts on local surface streets and residential neighborhoods that would result from the Webb+ concept.

“During a meeting with GDOT and others late last week, GDOT was quite emphatic that they have no interest in revisiting the Encore Parkway location,” Gilvin said during the Sept. 23 city council meeting. “According to the Department of Transportation representative, in 2017 a now former city council member and a representative of the North Fulton Community Improvement District, although having no authority to do so, requested that the Encore Parkway location be removed from consideration.”

Based upon that request, GDOT turned its attention to other locations for a direct access point to and from the Ga. 400 Express Lanes in Alpharetta and has since dedicated considerable time and resources in developing the Webb+ concept. They are now moving forward with their timeline and have begun the environmental impact studies that are the next required step in the development of the Ga. 400 Express Lanes Project.

“While it remains the city’s official position that locating the direct access point for the express lanes at Encore Parkway results in a project that improves mobility in a manner that best serves our community and the entire region, the Ga. 400 Express Lanes Project is not one that we control,” Gilvin said. “So, at this time GDOT will be moving forward with the project, including the Webb+ access.”