ALPHARETTA, Ga. -- Changes are coming to Georgia 400 as police struggle with drivers abusing the flex "shoulder" lanes that are there to ease congestion.
As traffic increases on 400, Alpharetta police are noticing more and more drivers using the "flex" shoulder lanes during times when they're not supposed to be there.
Recently, a driver in the shoulder lane struck a piece of DOT equipment. The equipment was allowed in the shoulder lane at the time, the driver was not.The shoulder lanes are available during certain hours of the morning and afternoon rush. 11Alive Commuter Dude Jerry Carnes is among those who've noticed drivers in the lanes during off-hours, often exceeding the posted 45-mile-an-hour speed limit.
GDOT says the signage along 400 is adequate to let drivers know the rules. But Alpharetta police say the problem continues."We have motorists traveling at such high speeds, they're not going to read that signage," said Alpharetta Police spokesperson George Gordon. "They're not going to see that signage, and quite frankly some don't care."
The state DOT plans to add signs that will display a big green arrow when you're allowed in the lane, or a big red x when you're not.They'll start to appear along Ga 400 next summer. Commuter Dude wondered, why not now?
"They're a lot of things that go into the design, preliminary engineering, environmental, making sure the signs go in the right place," said GDOT's Annalysce Baker.Funding for the signs just became available to GDOT. The cost will be $5 million.
Similar signs are going up along the small section of "flex" shoulder lanes on I-85 in Gwinnett County.