Under new funding model, GDOT expands I-285 express lanes

Jul. 23—In a bid to free up its funds for other roadway projects around the state, the Georgia Department of Transportation is looking to shift the financing of the I-285 express lane expansion to private capital.

The move to a "private revenue model," Cumberland CID Director Kim Menefee said Thursday, will allow for a significant expansion of one of Georgia's largest highway infrastructure projects.

According to GDOT, the shift will allow the state to build two "barrier-separated, dedicated express lanes in each direction across the entire northern half of I-285." Previously, the system would have been two lanes across the "top end" of the perimeter, narrowing to one lane on the western and eastern sides, without barrier separation. It also introduces the possibility of connecting the lanes to major highways like US-78 (Stone Mountain Freeway) and I-20.

The change in strategy has been developed in recent months through talks with GDOT's State Transportation board and local community improvement districts, Menefee said.

As Menefee described it, current models of funding for such projects have relied on public-private arrangements where the private sector pays for the construction up front, and GDOT repays that investment with public money over the following decades. That's how the Northwest Corridor lanes on I-75 were financed, under a 35-year contract.

The new approach is deemed a "private revenue model," which lessens the direct financial burden on the state.

Under that model, GDOT will enter into a 50-year contract with the private investor, whose investment would be repaid by collecting all revenues from the express lane's toll system. The private partner would be responsible for setting the toll rates, within State Road and Tollway Authority guidelines.

"Private developments, by moving forward with this strategy, would be awarded projects and take on that full financial risk ... the state would not be on the hook financially," Menefee said.

Menefee added she was looking into whether the shift in funding might be able to speed up the construction timeline for the projects, "because ... the west side's not planned to be built out until 2032."

GDOT's approach, however, has drawn criticism from Neill Herring, a lobbyist for the Georgia chapter of the Sierra Club. Herring said the state has allocated enough infrastructure money to not rely on private financing. The proposed 50-year contract also is uncomfortable to swallow, he added.

"I'm not aware of any 50-year contracts in government," he said. "They're creating a private DOT with a private revenue stream on public property. ... Why is that constitutional?"

Another express lane project, meanwhile, is on the verge of getting off the ground. Kyethea Clark, the CID's director of planning and projects, said construction of the Akers Mill Road express lane ramps is set to begin in September of this year after many years of planning. Construction is expected to be completed by 2023.

"A mere nine years," cracked the board's Vice Chair Connie Engel, expressing the CID's customary consternation at the meandering pace of state-sponsored infrastructure development.

Joked Board Chair John Shern, "I surely am focused on 50 years from now."

Capitol Beat News contributed to this story.