For the past couple of years, there has been a lot of construction activity going on at the I-75/I-475 split (Exit 155) just south of Macon, plus the Hartley Bridge Road (Exit 156/Bibb CR 740) interchange.

Here's a map of the vicinity taken from Yahoo! Maps...



Last May, as we were coming back from Florida, I noticed that there was not only a new extended northbound exit ramp from I-75 to Hartley Bridge, but also a new loop ramp built that will funnel eastbound Hartley Bridge traffic onto northbound I-75 via a so-called "collector/distributor" (C/D).

Upon completion of this C/D lane, Hartley Bridge traffic will be routed onto northbound I-75 just north of I-475. As an added bonus, the same traffic on this C/D lane will have a left-side exit ramp that will allow direct access to I-475.

Currently, if you are entering I-75 north from Hartley Bridge and wish to get onto I-475 via the left-side exit ramp, you would have to shoot across at least a couple of lanes to do so... and you have to do this within the less than one (1) mile distance between Exits 155 and 156. With the growing volumes of I-75 traffic, this could put someone at a major risk of collision.

On the southbound side of I-75, GDOT is building another C/D that will allow traffic coming from Downtown Macon to exit onto Hartley Bridge from I-75 just before the southbound I-475 merge.

From southbound I-475, there will be a new direct exit ramp to Hartley Bridge that will tie into the new southbound C/D.

According to GDOT information I found on their Transporation Explorer (TREX) website, the scheduled completion date of this entire project (GDOT project # IM-NH-75-1(192) 02) will be October 31, 2009.

The end result of all this construction should be a much smoother ride for the through traffic along both I-75 and I-475 in both directions, and a much smoother transition to and from Hartley Bridge Road. With the massive volume of I-75 traffic, this should hopefully further minimize any potential of serious traffic accidents for all.

For more information regarding this project (including design maps), go to the GDOT TREX website and choose the following options...

Find: Projects
Located: County Boundaries
In: Bibb
By: Project ID
ID: 311465 (you will need to type this number in)

And finally, a "shoutout" to our niece Ashley in Orlando for earning her driver's license and for her new car. "Aunt Mary" and "Uncle Steve" love you, are mighty proud of you, and wish you nothing but safe and pleasant driving journeys.

That's it for now. Thanks for reading and please come back often.

 

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