Georgia officials defend new express lane model amid affordability concerns – wsbtv.com

Georgia officials defend new express lane model amid affordability concerns  wsbtv.com

New toll express lanes aim to reduce traffic congestion in the Atlanta metro area through public-private partnerships. ATLANTA — State leaders are betting private companies can build new express lanes — and pay for them. In exchange, international highway developers will collect tolls for decades on some of Georgia’s busiest highways Channel 2’s Michael Doudna dug into the deals to understand how the public-private partnerships work and how the new lanes could change the daily commute of thousands of Georgia drivers. The first deal of its kind laid out the plans for an express lane project on Georgia 400, which started construction this year.

Next month, the state will pick one of three finalists hoping to build and operate tolled express lanes on the east side of I-285. State leaders like him are hoping express lanes can be a solution to congestion problems across the Atlanta metro area, where drivers lose about 75 hours sitting in traffic each year. Why paying drivers could front the costs for new express lanes, and why it could even benefit those who never pay, LIVE on Channel 2 Action News at 5:45 p.m.