SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — UPDATE: Here's updated guidance from GDOT on navigating this area:
- Currently those driving I-285 westbound to Glenridge Connector should utilize SR 400 SB Exit 2 Roswell RD / Buckhead and get back on SR 400 NB to take Exit 3 to Glenridge Connector.
- In the final configuration, there will be a slip ramp for motorists to exit from I-285 westbound to Glenridge Connector. Once the SR 400 southbound lane configurations are finalized this summer (July timeframe) the lanes will be separated out. That slip ramp that will allow the 285 WB to 400 SB traffic to access Glenridge Connector without having to cross multiple lanes of traffic.
Original story below
The ongoing construction project at GA 400 and Interstate 285 has created new moments of chaos at a confluence of ramps newly opened Friday.
Motorists facing this new traffic engineering challenge are coming from I-285 westbound.
Drivers use a newly built ramp to head south on GA 400 toward Buckhead and then they merge with more southbound traffic.
But then we saw some of them stopping – awkwardly halted in a gore separating the two southbound arteries – as they try to move to their right in order to exit at Glenridge.
We saw it over and over again Monday.
"What I have found with GDOT is you’ve got this highly professionalized team of engineers and planners who generally are doing their best to try to divert traffic in the most efficient ways," said state Sen. Josh McLaurin (D-Atlanta) who drives through the construction site regularly. "But they’re not going to nail every decision correctly every single time."
In this configuration, there’s no signage to guide motorists from the gore to the exit.
A GDOT spokeswoman, Natalie Dale writes, “in the past, some drivers improperly maneuvered from the westbound (I-285) ramp to Glenridge southbound. This was never a permitted movement, but during off-peak times some drivers did it anyway."
"With the current layout, this maneuvering cannot be done unless a driver crosses solid lane lines against the intended traffic operation,” Dale wrote. McLaurin said what’s ‘intended’ has been a constant work in progress as GDOT conducts this largest-ever interchange rebuild.
(Motorists find) 'oh I got off at this exit one day but now I have to go 200 feet further.' And that constant confusion I think catches people off guard," McLaurin said.
Dale said GDOT's traffic engineers are eyeing the situation to see if they need to add new traffic control measures to clean up any safety issues at the interchange.