ATLANTA, GA — U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Secretary Sean P. Duffy announces a loan of up to $3.89 billion from the Build America Bureau to a public-private partnership between the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT), the State Road and Tollway Authority (SRTA), and SR 400 Peach Partners, LLC (Peach Partners). The funding, made possible by the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA), is the largest loan approved to a single borrower to date.

The State Route 400 Express Lanes Project will add new lanes in both directions along a 16-mile section from the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) North Springs Station to 1 mile north of McFarland Parkway. While facilitating current MARTA and XPress bus connections, Peach Partners will also provide $75 million in future bus rapid transit (BRT) related improvements. MARTA will operate the future BRT system, which is expected to share the express lanes for approximately 12 miles.

The project calls for Peach Partners to provide a $3.8 billion concession fee to GDOT that can help fund other roadway projects as part of the public-private partnership agreement to design, build, finance, operate, and maintain the express lanes.

The project is expected to reduce delays by over 19,000 hours each day, or about 15 minutes per traveler, due to less idling and traffic congestion. It will also enhance public safety through the construction of new bridges and other safety improvements, the replacement or widening of several existing bridges, and will reduce traffic incidents by an estimated 8 percent. The new express lanes will be tolled using dynamic congestion pricing to manage demand and maintain reliable trip times, while current lanes will remain free.