Buckhead Group Seeks Bids To Widen Piedmont Road
The goal of the Piedmont Road widening project is to reduce the number of accidents and make it easier for travelers.
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The Buckhead Community Improvement District or CID says the stretch of Piedmont Road between Peachtree and Lenox roads is one of the most congested streets in the area.
So the group, led by executive director Jim Durrett, is soliciting bids for developers to add another lane on each side.
“Vehicles will travel more smoothly so it will not end up being the bottleneck that it is today coming in both directions for people exiting and entering onto Georgia 400,” Durrett said.
He said the goal is to reduce the number of accidents and make it easier for travelers.
“We will have a center turn lane for the entire length, and you will have three travel lanes going in each direction for the entire length of the corridor,” Durrett said. “You won’t have lanes suddenly appearing or disappearing.”
Georgia State University transportation professor Joseph Hacker said making lanes consistent is always helpful, but the project might not solve the problem of relieving as much congestion as it hopes.
“Widening doesn’t cure congestion; in fact, it often inspires more congestion because people then see — ‘Oh look, they’ve added more lanes, it’ll be easier to use it,’” Hacker said.
Construction is expected to start in 2021 and take about two years to complete.
The project, estimated to cost about $25 million, also includes widening the sidewalk on one side of Piedmont Road from 5 to 12 feet to accommodate a shared bike and pedestrian pathway.
The deadline for contractors to submit proposals is Dec. 8.
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