Toll Lanes Improve Travel Times for Cars and Buses on Georgia's Northwest Corridor

"Motorists took more than seven million trips on the Northwest Corridor during their first year of operation," reports David Wickert.

The Georgia Department of Transportation announced the trip totals a year after 30 miles of toll lanes, running along I-75 and I-575 in Cobb and Cherokee counties, opened on September 8, 2018. 

"The agency says motorists in the toll lanes are traveling about 30 percent faster than those in the free (or “general purpose”) lanes," adds Wickert. "But motorists in the free lanes have also benefited – they’re moving about 20 mph faster at rush hour than before the toll lanes opened."

The positive results in congestion reduction echo positive reviews reported a month after the lanes started service. Bus service along the route has also reported improved trip times, as documented in a post by Planetizen correspondent Irvin Dawid in May 2019.