Parsons’ iNET™ Software Integral to Northwest Corridor Reversible Express Lanes
The Metro-Atlanta Northwest Corridor’s reversible express lanes were officially opened to the public in a dedication ceremony held on September 12. We were the lead designer for the Northwest Corridor project, which included the design and construction of 30 miles of new reversible toll lanes, 6 new express lane interchanges, 3 new access points, and 39 new bridges. The Northwest Corridor offers predictable, quick commute times with dedicated toll lanes flowing traffic inbound (south) in the mornings and outbound (north) during the evenings.
Our team extended Georgia Department of Transportation’s (GDOT’s) NaviGAtor Intelligent Transportation System (ITS), which is a rebranded version of Parsons’ Intelligent NETworks® advanced transportation management software. The NaviGAtor ITS will assist GDOT in monitoring traffic, controlling messaging signs, and operating access gates. In addition, our team supported the Georgia State Road and Tollway Authority (SRTA) by providing the design/furnish/installation of the ITS network and the installation/configuration of Parsons’ iNET™ software to collect traffic volumes and enable dynamic toll pricing.
The Northwest Corridor is one of the Atlanta region’s most congested travel corridors according to GDOT. With an anticipated 17 million trips per year, drivers are expected to see shorter commutes in both the express lanes and the general purpose lanes. On the corridor’s inaugural weekday commute, the general purpose lanes saved drivers approximately 60 minutes on commute time.
Parsons trained first responders regarding incident management and response on this unique facility. Our transportation operations professionals trained nearly 2,000 responders representing more than 50 organizations, including GDOT’s Highway Emergency Response Operator (HERO) Master Operators who constantly patrol the express lanes.
The opening ceremony was attended by Governor Nathan Deal, GDOT Commissioner Russell McMurry, Georgia SRTA Executive Director Chris Tomlinson, U.S. Representative Barry Loudermilk, Georgia State Senator Brandon Beach, and Parsons’ project team members, as well as other federal and state elected leaders and transportation agency officials and contractors. The project is the largest transportration project in Georgia’s history and the first to be procured by GDOT as a design-build-finance public-private partnership.