The
Outer Perimeter was an expressway originally planned to encircle
Atlanta
about 20 to 25 miles (about 30 to 40 km) further
away from the city than the existing Perimeter Highway (I-285).
Planning
The
original plan of the highway was to have roughly gone through or
near the communities of Cartersville
, Canton
, Cumming
, Buford
, Dacula
, Loganville
, Conyers
, McDonough
, Hampton
, Newnan
, Peachtree City
, Villa Rica
, and Dallas
. The
roadway was to have roughly paralleled
State Route 20, which goes around
three sides of Atlanta.
A later
incarnation of the highway only encompassed what was termed the
Northern Arc and included the portion of the
original planned highway from Interstate
75 near Cartersville across to Interstate 85 near the Mall of
Georgia
in Buford. One proposal tied to this version
would have reportedly limited exits to five major
highway interchanges, at the freeways
that crossed it: I-75;
I-575;
Georgia 400;
I-985; and
I-85.
The Northern Arc was to have been a
toll
road under another proposal, which advocates say would have
kept most local traffic away from the highway, while freeing it for
trucks. Opponents said that despite the toll, the road would have
encouraged additional development and congestion, creating the
continued
urban sprawl that, at times,
threatens to overwhelm areas much closer to Atlanta-proper.
Route designation
The highway was to have been officially designated
Georgia
state route 500. Although officially denied by the
GDOT, it may also have carried an internal
Interstate Highway number of
Interstate 485. Advocates of the highway touted
its use by long-distance truck drivers to have them completely
avoid the congestion of the highways much closer to Atlanta.
The original Perimeter, I-285, which was originally planned as a
bypass of the city and was completed in 1969,
has in effect become one of the main freeway routes for both local
traffic and traffic passing through the Atlanta area.
Current status
Budgetary constraints, political pressure, and public opposition
supposedly killed plans for both incarnations of the road. However,
the Northern Arc resurfaced in February 2007, with suggestions that
it be placed further north, out of the current path of
exurban land
development.
References
External links
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