The Georgia Dept. of Transportation (GDOT) and State Road and Tollway Authority (SRTA) selected SR 400 Peach Partners to design and construct 16 miles of express lane in Atlanta, as well as maintain and operate the tolled lanes for 50 years.

Design and construction are expected to cost $4.6 billion, according to GDOT, which, along with the SRTA used a best-value procurement method, scoring technical approaches and financial proposals to select SR 400 Peach Partners. It is a consortium of ACS Infrastructure, Meridiam, Acciona Concesiones, Acciona Construction, Dragados and Parsons.

Through the public-private partnership, SR 400 Peach Partners will design, build, finance, operate and maintain the express lanes in accordance with contractual parameters set by GDOT and SRTA. 

Work is expected to begin in late 2025 with substantial completion anticipated for 2031.

In the announcement of its Aug. 15 selection, GDOT said “the team members for SR 400 Peach Partners have an extensive track record of successfully delivering these types of projects."  

SR 400 Peach Partners will make a concession payment to the state of $4.05 billion and deliver the project through a combination of financing methods, GDOT says.

The project will add new express lanes in both directions along roughly 16 miles of SR 400 from the North Springs MARTA station at Exit 5C in Fulton County to 1 mile north of McFarland Parkway at Exit 12 in Forsyth County. Like existing express lanes, the new lanes will have variable-priced tolls offering a choice for drivers to bypass congestion, according to GDOT. 

“SR 400 has been an integral part of the region’s transportation network for over five decades,” says Jannine Miller, GDOT director of planning and executive director of SRTA and the Atlanta-region Transit Link Authority, in a release. “As the state’s economy and population have grown, so too has traffic in this critical part of the region .” 

ACS Infra, Acciona Concesiones and Meridiam will develop and finance the project, with Dragados and Acciona Construccion constructing the lanes and Parsons designing, according to ACS Group, which says the project has an approximate construction period of five-and-a-half years. 

Acciona says the project will use a dynamic toll system to improve traffic flow, a “pioneering system whereby the amount to be paid by the driver varies according to the volume of traffic on the highway, allowing vehicles to access additional toll lanes and thus reducing traffic jams and polluting emissions.” 

GDOT says that over the next year prior to construction start, SR400 Peach Partners will be completing final concept designs, environmental re-evaluations and obtaining necessary financing and permitting as it continues to purchase property for the required right-of-way.

The project will be financed, ACS Group says, with a combination of equity and debt that will include a TIFIA loan from the U.S. Dept. of Transportation and the issuance of taxable and tax-exempt bonds in the capital markets. 

SR 400 Peach Partners will also provide $26 million to support the construction of two bus rapid transit (BRT) stations at Holcomb Bridge Road and North Point Mall as part of the project, which includes a $100-million state bond for major components of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) BRT line, which will ride for free in the express lanes. 

In addition to new express lanes on SR 400, the project will deploy another 0.9-mile express lane in each direction from McGinnis Ferry Road to McFarland Parkway, and will refurbish bridges on Pitts Road, Roberts Drive and Kimball Bridge, Acciona says, and regeneration measures for environmental and social impact. 

According to GDOT, the area is set to see 144,000 more residents and 114,000 more jobs by 2050.