ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia’s governor said last 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…