The financing of the ‘diverging diamond interchange’ at I-285 and Ashford-Dunwoody Road shows the kind of cooperation that will be critical for Georiga transportation projects in the future, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle said Nov. 16 during the dedication of the project.
“This innovative project is a testament to the drive and dedication of the Perimeter Community Improvement Districts to improve traffic congestion in the important Perimeter Market and to the Georgia Department of Transportation for being receptive to creative, low-cost ideas to meet traffic challenges,” Cagle said.
The $6 million interchange was initiated in 2009 by the PCID to improve the more than 40-year-old interchange, which was inadequate to serve the nearly 55,000 vehicles that use it daily, PCID President and CEO Yvonne Williams said in a press release.
The PCID hired Moreland Altobelli engineering firm to find an immediate, low-cost way to make improvements, Williams said. The firm recommended the cutting-edge DDI design, which originated in France and had first been used in the U.S. in 2009 in Springfield, Mo., the PCID said in a press release.
The PCID received grant funding from the State Road and Tollway Authority and DeKalb County for engineering and design, the press release said, and Williams said “GDOT quickly came on board with the project and funded the $4.6 million cost of construction.”
