Atlanta Expressways

[pkgman]

For anyone that drives I75 through Atlanta

Does using the expressway toll lanes seem to be that usefully? Does it lower you frustration level with traffic congestion?

Is there northern sectioned southern section if you traveling completely through Atlanta? I have found it hard to tell if Apple or Google maps have you travel on the expressways?

I have SunPass mini on the windshield so I assume that I can just fly right through expressway, if needed.

TIA

 

[macraven]

I avoid tolls by taking 285 and go around Atlanta
I think it is better than staying on 75

 

[spiders]

It's a one-way toll lane so it would need to be currently setup for the direction you are traveling. By that, I mean in the mornings it will be setup to go into the city and then eventually they will close it, wait for it to clear, and then reverse it.

As mentioned above, you can take 285, it can be faster. If you're coming from 75 and staying on 75 then check live traffic as you approach to see if going eastbound or westbound would be faster. Also, sometimes going through the city is faster. There are no toll lanes inside 285 but there is a HOV lane and the HOV lane is enforced 24/7 and all thru-trucks must use 285 so that kind of helps. 285 does not have any toll or HOV lanes. Again, sometimes it's faster and sometimes it isn't. It's a perimeter so 75, 85, & 20 all connect to it on both sides so you can expect some congestion as you approach those entrances/exits.

There is a northern and a southern section. However, eventually both 75 & 85 merge for a few miles as it goes through downtown Atlanta which is probably causing you your confusion. It's combined between a few miles north of the airport through midtown or just passed Georgia Tech. The portion where 75 & 85 merge is called the connector.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Varies on time of day, but I really dislike the stretch of I-75 south of Atlanta as it goes through Henry County/McDonough. This section of 75 is prone to congestion and odd phantom jams in both directions at times. There are reversible /variable toll lanes through here and I take them almost every time no matter the cost.

As PP notes, the flaw is they change directions based on the time of day, so it may not always be open in the direction you’re headed.

I haven’t used the new toll lanes on I-75 north of Atlanta much, but it’s the same reversible/variable system as above.

But overall, I often find them worth it depending on conditions. Note that if traffic is really bad, the variable cost toll can get relatively high.

 

[gatormom2tots]

They are fabulous WHEN the traffic is bad and IF you hit the one south of atlanta going in the correct direction- it always seems to be the opposite of what I need. I use the one on 85 quite a bit on a weekly basis.

I will note...the "peach pass" is suppose to work in sync with the sunpass- meaning we can use it for both Florida and Georgia. But our experience has been the florida tolls NEVER pick it up and we always get a paper toll bill about 6 weeks later. We finally just bought a sunpass too. Not sure if you will have the same issue coming into Georgia.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I will note...the "peach pass" is suppose to work in sync with the sunpass- meaning we can use it for both Florida and Georgia. But our experience has been the florida tolls NEVER pick it up and we always get a paper toll bill about 6 weeks later. We finally just bought a sunpass too. Not sure if you will have the same issue coming into Georgia.

Seriously. I thought I had researched it well and everything would work when we drove in July... 6 weeks later I got the letter! Lol.