News Archive - revive285

The completion of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) is a major project milestone for the Northwest Corridor (I-75/1-575) Project (NWCP). It is the latest effort in the continuation of compliance with the federal environmental process which began in early 2004. The Notice of Availability (NOA), used to advertise the date when the document is ready for public review, was published in the Federal Register. A thirty (30) day public comment period begins when the FEIS is available; it ends 11/21/2011. To review detailed information on the project, chosen alternative and commenting process, review this document.

As your comments are valuable to us, we have made the FEIS accessible in a number of ways:
1. On the project website, www.nwcproject.com;
2. At the following area libraries and Georgia DOT Offices:

Atlanta-Fulton County Library, One Margaret Mitchell Square, Atlanta GA 30303,
Cobb County Central Library, 266 Roswell St, Marietta GA 30060,
RT Jones Memorial Library, 116 Brown Industrial Pkwy, Canton GA 30114,
Georgia Department of Transportation, Office of Environmental Services,
600 West Peachtree Street, NW., 16th Floor, Atlanta, GA 30308,
GDOT District 6 Main Office, 500 Joe Frank Harris Parkway, Cartersville, GA 30120,
GDOT District 6 Cherokee Area Engineer’s Office, 874 Peeples Valley Road, NW, Cartersville, GA 30120,
GDOT District 7 Main Office, 5025 New Peachtree Road, Chamblee, GA 30341, and GDOT District 7
Office, Cobb Area Engineer’s Office, 1269 Kennestone Circle, Marietta, Georgia 30066

3. You may also request a DVD and additional content through the “Contact Us” tab on the website, by
calling our Voice Mail Hotline at (404) 377-4012 or emailing us at nwcpcomments@projectsolvemail.com.
4. Paper copies may be requested by contacting Darryl VanMeter at Georgia Department of Transportation
using the phone number or email address in the document referenced above.
5. Project informational displays, or kiosks, will be held in the vicinity of the corridor depicting project information
and allowing the opportunity for public comment. A separate flyer announcing the kiosk locations,
dates and times will be distributed electronically and in hard copy, and posted on the project website.

The state’s first "diverging diamond" interchange, at I-285 and Ashford-Dunwoody, could be complete as early as September 2012, according to the state Department of Transportation. READ MORE

The Georgia Department of Transportation has launched a project to radically redesign the busy Interstate Highway 285 interchange at Ashford Dunwoody Road in DeKalb County to a configuration expected to significantly improve safety and traffic flow and perhaps become a model for congested interchanges throughout the state.

READ RELEASE

Project engineers and environmental specialists have been assessing the environmental impacts that could result from the implementation of the I-285 top end alternatives that were developed and are currently under consideration. As a result of this effort, many historic houses and historic districts, as well as parkland have been identified within the potential area of impact for the build alternatives under consideration. Because this project is being sponsored with state and federal funds, the historic resources, districts and parkland are considered Section 4(f) resources under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is required by law to protect these areas. As a result, design engineers are working on ways to reduce the footprints of the build alternatives affecting Section 4(f) properties including elevating the alignment, tunneling the alignment, or reducing the right-of-way or lane width. All of these avoidance and minimization changes to the alignment of the alternatives result in changes to the overall project cost. So in addition to assessing alternatives to avoid adverse impacts on Section 4(f) resources, the project team is also currently working to update project costs.

Revisions to the build alternatives will be complete in late fall of 2011. They will be posted here along with a detailed written description of the changes. The interactive mapping tool will also be updated to include the revised alignments.

Imagine zipping along the northern part of I-285 during rush hour on a rapid transit vehicle taking you to or from work while checking your BlackBerry and reading the daily newspaper. With more than 100,000 people commuting daily to the four-square-mile perimeter business district and projections indicating 35,000 more employees by 2018, safe, efficient, stress-free connections to major employment centers present an attractive option. MORE.

revive285 launched a Public Square Atlanta presence in June 2011 in an effort to expand project reach and grow public involvement.

Public Square is a product of the Lens on Atlanta initiative, a strategic effort at Public Broadcasting Atlanta to offer digital services that provide much needed resources to metro Atlanta. Future roll-out phases will focus on sharing the currency of the new millennium, information, in the form of educational and interactive content that will help citizens better understand the diverse Atlanta community.

Atlanta’s Public Square community network is designed to connect citizens that share like concerns and public objectives both with each other and with elected officials to bring positive change to their communities.

Public Square is grounded in collaboration. It encourages every person to contribute his or her concerns and desires for the community and ask for neighbors, advocacy groups and local government to weigh in with expertise or guidance.
In contrast to a message board or social network, Public Square’s focus is on action. The individual contributions have the power to aggregate community issues, provide shared resources & examples, and engage elected officials in new and unique ways.
Public Square Atlanta strives to be a balanced platform for conversations, community action, debates and civil discourse. The site thrives on public input.
You have many choices for community involvement, and Public Square would like to make that process more effective for you. It’s your community and your place to connect, collaborate, and create change.

Learn more about PBS Public Square Atlanta here: http://www.publicsquareatlanta.org/about_us.php

Visit revive285 @ Public Square Atlanta here: http://www.publicsquareatlanta.org/forum/groups/forum/revive285-top-end-0.htm

Everyone is talking about revive285 Twitter and Facebook! That is, we have reached 500+ Twitter followers and 200+ likes on Facebook. Come join us for conversation and quick bites of information on the project, corridor traffic updates, Q&A, project terms, and more.

Transportation Investment Act wish list samples: MORE

Pavement quality on Georgia’s roads is getting perilously bad. Use of mass transit in metro Atlanta has gone up, up, up since 2004 -- at least until MARTA’s cuts last year. And afternoon rush hour on the highways is worse than morning.

Those are some of the conclusions from the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority’s annual report on metro Atlanta’s transportation systems. The data is often more than a year old, but it paints a comprehensive picture that is hard to find anywhere else.

If there is one overall conclusion, according to GRTA staff, it is that the metro area’s needs are likely to continue to increase, but there isn’t enough money to meet them.