The Georgia Department of Transportation has announced dates for Community Conversations: I-285 Top End Express Lanes, a series of informational meetings focusing on improved trip time reliability around the I-285 Top End and SR 400 areas included in the proposed I-285 Top End Express Lanes in DeKalb, Fulton, and Cobb counties. 
 
Georgia DOT is inviting the community to attend one of the meetings, scheduled between May 14-23, 2019, which will be held across six municipalities from Smyrna to Chamblee (schedule with dates and locations below). Community Conversations: I-285 Top End Express Lanes will give I-285 and SR 400 users and other stakeholders in the area a greater understanding of the different mobility options available and the continuing development of transportation infrastructure over the past decade.
 
“Community Conversations: I-285 Top End Express Lanes serves as a bridge between past improvement projects and current proposed projects,” Georgia DOT Major Mobility Investment Program (MMIP) Program Manager Tim Matthews, P.E. said. “The series of meetings allows those living and working along the I-285 top end to better understand the future of transportation in the area, as hundreds of thousands of people commute along this corridor every day. These community forums will be informational and offer the public more opportunities to learn about the project from representatives of the department and project team. We are here to listen and address any questions you may have.”
 
No project concept displays will be provided at the Community Conversations meeting series as these are in development and will be reflective of the community’s input from these meetings. The meetings are to inform local stakeholders of Georgia DOT’s decision to formally close the Revive285 project, to rescind the existing Revive285 project’s Notice of Intent (NOI), and to move forward with I-285 Top End Express Lanes project. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is the lead federal agency. Previous improvements designed and constructed, which were originally proposed as part of Revive285 include the Ashford Dunwoody Road Diverging Diamond Interchange (DDI), the Riverside Drive roundabout, and the Transform 285/400 project, which is currently under construction.
 
The meetings will be informal, with a brief opening presentation, followed by opportunities for the public to visit with project team members who will be divided into topical stations for informal questions and feedback. This format will be followed at each location.
 
The highly-anticipated Public Information Open House (PIOH) meetings will be held in early 2020 where the initial concept plans will be displayed, and the project team will be accepting formal public comments. 
 
The I-285 Top End Express Lanes project proposes to construct express lanes along I-285 from west of Paces Ferry Road in Cobb County to Henderson Road in DeKalb County, and a section along SR 400 from south of the Glenridge Connector to the vicinity of the North Springs MARTA Station. The proposed express lanes would improve mobility and travel time reliability along the I-285 corridor and become part of the larger Georgia Express Lanes network.
 
Dedicated email and phone voicemail boxes for the I-285 Top End Express Lanes are available at [email protected] and (404) 978-7490. Additional project information can be found at http://www.dot.ga.gov/DS/GEL/I285TopEnd and more information on the Georgia Express Lanes network can be found at http://www.dot.ga.gov/DS/GEL.