The historic negotiations to expand I-75 and I-575 above the Perimeter partly with private money and tolls have made big news statewide. They may also have overshadowed news just as stunning: the project's sheer size.
The total expansion project from the Perimeter to Hickory Grove Road, north of Wade Green Road, on I-75 and up to Sixes Road on I-575 would gobble up nearly 200 more acres along the highways.
"It's overwhelming," said Melissa Hart, a Marietta resident who came to a recent public information meeting on the project. "It's overkill."
State transportation officials insist it's necessary. Partly because of long-haul freight, peak traffic already turns the interchange with I-285 into one big truck stop, and it's only going to get worse, they say.
"Traffic volumes on I-75 are approaching values very seldom seen throughout the country," said Darryl VanMeter, a state Department of Transportation engineer who is directing the project.
Preliminary projections show I-75 traffic rising from 347,000 vehicles a day now to a possible 401,000 by 2030, VanMeter said.
A list the Federal Highway Administration keeps of the biggest American highways already puts I-75 at the top, with 15 lanes across at some points. It depends on how you count; California reports a stretch of I-5 south of Los Angeles with 26 lanes, including auxiliary and transition lanes. The I-75 project is still being developed, but the current concept would put the highway in the 20-plus class, adding four lanes in each direction.
