Deteriorating performance of the high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes on I-85 during peak periods as a result of heavy usage provided the focus of the Atlanta congestion reduction demonstration projects. To address the performance problems, the following strategies were deployed:

• Conversion of the existing HOV lane to high occupancy/toll (HOT) lanes, called Express Lanes on 16 miles of I-85 northeast of Atlanta
• Addition of 12 new buses and 3 new bus routes
• Four new or expanded park and ride facilities
• Targeted outreach to increase the number of 3-person carpools from existing 2-person carpools and single-occupant vehicles
• Deployment of innovative enforcement technologies on the Express Lanes

Evaluation of the deployments considered the period before and a period of one year after deployment.

Costs

The Atlanta Congestion Reduction Demonstration (CRD) project costs were divided into Planning, Design, and Construction/Purchase Costs and Operations and Maintenance Costs. The following tables summarize the overall costs for the CRD projects in Atlanta.

Planning, Design, and Construction/Purchase Costs
 

CRD Project Component	Planning, Design, and Construction/Purchase Costs (2011 Dollars)
HOT Lanes on I-85
Highway Design	$6,755,030
Construction for Tolling (gantries, fiber, signs)*	$16,490,211
Tolling System (development, equipment, readers)	$24,068,187
Marketing and Communications	$3,300,000
Customer Service Center Start Up	$1,600,000
Enforcement	$573,000
TOTAL	$52,786,428
12 New Buses with 3 New Bus Routes*	$5,793,912
Park-and-Ride Lots (3 new and 1 expanded)
Mall of Georgia (lease)	$1,040,000
Dacula / Hebron Baptist (lease)	$495,000
I-985 / GA20 (expansion)*	$2,484,181
Hamilton Mill (new)*	$5,005,736
TOTAL	$9,024,917
Carpooling Outreach
Clean Air Campaign Lead	$57,000
SRTA Lead	$173,522
TOTAL	$230,522
Monitoring and Evaluation
National Evaluation	$625,000
Performance Monitoring	$2,000,000
TOTAL	$2,625,000
GRAND TOTAL	$70,460,779

*indicates this item will have a salvage value after 10 years

Operations and Maintenance Costs

CRD Project Component	Operations and Maintenance Costs (years 2011 to 2021 in 2011 dollars)
HOT Lanes on I-85
Overhead	$9,230,080
Traffic Operations Center	$3,130,908
Customer Service Center/Violations	$13,784,128
Lane Equipment	$8,498,179
ITS	$2,764,958
Enforcement	$1,870,413
Other	$1,382,479
TOTAL	$40,661,145
12 New Buses with 3 New Bus Routes	$15,121,391
Park-and-Ride Lots (3 new and 1 expanded)	$114,189
GRAND TOTAL	$55,896,725