Atlanta, GA — Today, Congresswoman Lucy McBath (D-GA) joined community members in the Cumberland area in celebrating the formal opening of the new Akers Mill access ramp. This infrastructure project was supported by a $5 million Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation which she helped secure during her first term in Congress. The project broke ground in October of 2021—a remarkable timeline for such a significant infrastructure project. Earlier this week, McBath took to the floor of the House of Representatives to commemorate the project’s ribbon cutting. You can view her remarks by clicking here or on the image below:
“The opening of the Akers Mill Ramp just four years after we broke ground represents the power of bipartisan cooperation and unified community advocacy,” McBath said. “I want to congratulate all those in Cobb County, the Georgia Department of Transportation, the State Road and Tollway Authority, and the U.S. Department of Transportation who had a hand in making this project a reality, particularly our stakeholders with the Cumberland Community Improvement District and the Atlanta Regional Commission who have been such tremendous partners and advocates for this project. Today’s opening shows what is possible when our federal government makes strong bipartisan investments in our community.”
In July of 2019, McBath announced that Cobb County and the Cumberland Community Improvement District was awarded the $5 million INFRA grant, which she requested in a letter to then-U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao. In addition, McBath convened meetings with Department of Transportation officials to request the Department’s support for the project. Several members of Georgia’s Congressional Delegation wrote letters of support in the past, but despite the bipartisan support, three previous attempts to secure federal funding for the project failed between 2016 and 2018.
The Akers Mill Ramp will serve an estimated 100,000 daily commuters in the metro Atlanta area, an integral piece of an infrastructure reform plan for one of the busiest interstate intersections in the southeast. Phase 1 of the Akers Mill Ramp project raised $24 million in funds from state and local stakeholders. The $5 million allocated by the U.S. Department of Transportation closed the funding gap needed to complete the project. Over $14 million in funding for Phase 2 of the project was committed by the Cumberland Community Improvement District, Cobb County, the State Road & Tollway Authority, and the Atlanta Regional Commission, but these commitments were dependent on the successful allocation of the $5 million from the Department of Transportation.
The new access ramp, which will be the newest of 12 access points for the lanes, will serve southbound express lanes users as an exit ramp in the morning and northbound express lanes users as an entrance ramp in the evening. The new access ramp will include gates on both ends to ensure safety for reversible directions of travel. The ramp will be 24-feet wide for the reversible lanes (plus break-down shoulders) and will widen to 50-feet at Akers Mill. It will include a barrier separated entrance to the northbound managed lanes.