New GA-400 incident trucks launch, as Express Lane construction ramps up

ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Construction activity is picking up along Georgia 400 as crews move forward on a major express toll lane project stretching from Sandy Springs to Forsyth County.

The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) says work is ramping up to build two express toll lanes in each direction between the North Springs MARTA Station (Exit 5) and McFarland Parkway (Exit 12). As construction increases, GDOT is also rolling out a new incident response team dedicated to the corridor.

Starting today, GDOT and State Route 400 Peach Partners, the company building and operating the lanes, deploy the State Route 400 Incident Response Unit, designed to operate much like the HERO units drivers already see across metro Atlanta.

“It’s going to mirror the great service we already do with our HERO operators in metro Atlanta and our CHAMP operators in the rest of the state,” Kyle Collins with GDOT said. “It’s going to be a seamless integration to help with incident response and customer service response in that 16-mile 400 corridor.”

The patrol trucks are white and clearly marked “SR-400 Incident Response.” They’ll operate out of a separate traffic management center in Alpharetta, specifically dedicated to the GA-400 construction zone. But they will fully integrate with GDOT’s Traffic Management Center in Southeast Atlanta. 

Drivers who need assistance on this stretch of GA-400 or want to report roadway issues can still dial 511.

During the construction phase, the SR-400 Incident Response Unit will patrol the existing GA-400 lanes, helping clear crashes, stalled vehicles, and construction-related issues. Once the express lanes open, the unit will transition to working in the new toll lanes, too. 

“While construction is going on the next five years, they’ll be addressing issues in the existing lanes on 400,” Collins said. “That will carry over once the two lanes are open in each direction on the express lanes starting in 2031. They’re actually on in this corridor for a period of 50-plus years.” Which is the length of the contract that the company has to run these toll lanes. 

The express lane project is a public-private partnership, funded by the private developer State Route 400 Peach Partners, which will build, operate, and maintain the lanes under a long-term agreement with the state.

GDOT says traditional HERO units will continue to patrol GA-400, working alongside the new SR-400 Incident Response Unit throughout construction and beyond.

Construction on the new GA-400 Peach Pass Express Lanes is just beginning, and new toll lanes will not open until 2031.