Tom Moreland Interchange

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Tom Moreland Interchange
Spaghetti Junction
Spaghetti junction atlanta georgia i85 sb.jpg
Tom Moreland Interchange from I-85 traveling southbound
Tom Moreland Interchange
Location
Atlanta, Georgia
Coordinates 33°53′30″N84°15′33″W / 33.891744°N 84.259164°W / 33.891744; -84.259164 (Tom Moreland Interchange)
Roads at
junction
I-85.svg I-85
I-285.svg I-285
US 23.svgGeorgia 13.svg US 23  / SR 13 Buford Highway
Construction
TypeStack Interchange
Constructed1983-1987
Opened1987
Maintained by GDOT

Tom Moreland Interchange, colloquially known as Spaghetti Junction , is the interchange of Interstate 85 (I-85) and I-285, along with several access roads, in northern DeKalb County, Georgia, northeast of Atlanta and just to the south of Norcross in Gwinnett County. It is named for Tom Moreland, a former commissioner of the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) from 1975 to 1987.

Contents

I-85 is a major traffic corridor from the northeastern suburbs of Atlanta in the Gwinnett County area into downtown Atlanta. I-285 is a beltway around Atlanta. In the northern I-285 corridor, in the area from I-85 counterclockwise to I-75, there has been a large amount of development of office space. The design of Spaghetti Junction was intended to remove choke points and reduce congestion in the I-85 and I-285 interchange, which had been a cloverleaf. [1]

Description

Aerial view of the interchange SpaghettiJunctionGA.jpg
Aerial view of the interchange

The interchange is a stack interchange. Because of a northeast-to-southwest ramp that passes over the fourth level of the interchange, Spaghetti Junction is a five-level stack interchange, not a traditional four-level stack. It contains additional ramps to accommodate traffic on four nearby side roads: Buford Highway/US 23, Chamblee–Tucker Road, Pleasantdale Road, and Northcrest Road. The interchange handles approximately 300,000 vehicles each day. It has 14 bridges, the highest rising 90 feet (27 m), running from Northcrest Road to I-85 south.

History

The Tom Moreland Interchange was designed to replace a cloverleaf interchange dating back to 1958 that had earned the nickname "Malfunction Junction", and was redesigned and reconstructed as part of the Freeing the Freeways program intended to relieve congestion on Atlanta-area interstates. HNTB served as the design consultant for the new interchange. In order to fast-track the construction, bidding contractors were required to choose from three major designs for the six major bridges: precast concrete segmental girders, welded steel-plate box girders, and cast-in-place concrete segmental box girders. The winning bidder chose the latter design. [2]

The contract for reconstruction of the interchange was awarded in October 1982 at a cost of $62.5 million (equivalent to $167 million in 2023 [3] ), which was, at the time, the most expensive contract ever awarded by GDOT. [4] [2] Work began on January 10, 1983. [5] On August 24, 1985, the first flyover ramp of the interchange opened, connecting I-85 northbound to I-285 westbound. [6] Initially expected to be completed in June 1986, [7] the project was completed on July 9, 1987, in a ribbon-cutting ceremony. [5] The final cost also ballooned to $86 million (equivalent to $198 million in 2023 [3] ). [2]

Origin of nickname

The actual origin of the name, "Spaghetti Junction" in Atlanta is attributed to traffic reporter Dave Straub. In 1986, as construction was about midway completed on the massive 11-mile (18 km) ramp system, Straub was flying over it in a helicopter reporting a traffic jam and commented that it was beginning to look like an "overturned bowl of Spaghetti". He then commented, "I think I'll start calling it 'Spaghetti Junction.'" Listeners complained about Straub's use of the "food reference" in his traffic reports, but Straub insisted that it would become a household term. And it did. He stuck with it, and soon, merchants began advertising their locations as being just north or south of "Spaghetti Junction". While it is officially named "The Tom Moreland Interchange" in honor of its designer, that reference is rarely used and "Spaghetti Junction" is a major landmark in the city of Atlanta and beyond. [8]

The interchange's colloquial name of "Spaghetti Junction" is mentioned in an eponymous song by the Atlanta-based hip hop group Outkast in their 2000 album Stankonia and in the film Baby Driver , which is set in Atlanta. [9]

The interchange has also been pictured on a 2017 album cover, Quality Control: Control the Streets Volume 1 . The album features many rising artists that call Atlanta their home, including Migos, Lil Yachty, and Young Thug. [10]

Related Research Articles

In Downtown Atlanta, the Downtown Connector or 75/85 is the concurrent section of Interstate 75 and Interstate 85 through the core of the city. Beginning at the I-85/Langford Parkway interchange, the Downtown Connector runs generally due north, meeting the west–east I-20 in the middle. Just north of this is the Grady Curve around Grady Memorial Hospital. Continuing north, the terminus of the Downtown Connector is the Brookwood Interchange or Brookwood Split in the Brookwood area of the city. The overall length of the Downtown Connector is approximately 7.5 miles (12 km). Since the 2000s, it has been officially named James Wendell George Parkway for most of its length, although it is still designated the Connector in the mainstream. It also has unsigned designations State Route 401 (I-75) and State Route 403 (I-85) along its length, due to I-75 and I-85 having 400-series reference numbers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 285 (Georgia)</span> Interstate Highway in Georgia, United States

Interstate 285 (I-285) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway encircling Atlanta, Georgia, for 63.98 miles (102.97 km). It connects the three major Interstate Highways to Atlanta: I-20, I-75, and I-85. Colloquially referred to as the Perimeter, it also carries unsigned State Route 407 (SR 407) and is signed as Atlanta Bypass on I-20, I-75, and I-85.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgia State Route 400</span> North-south highway in U.S. state of Georgia

Georgia State Route 400 is a freeway and state highway in the U.S. state of Georgia serving parts of Metro Atlanta. It is concurrent with U.S. Route 19 from exit 4 until its northern terminus south-southeast of Dahlonega, linking the city of Atlanta to its north-central suburbs and exurbs. SR 400 travels from the Lindbergh neighborhood in the Buckhead district of Atlanta, at Interstate 85 (I-85), to just south-southeast of Dahlonega. Like the Interstate highways, it is a limited-access road, but unlike the interstates, the exit numbers are not mileage-based, they are sequential. Once SR 400 passes exit 18 (SR 369), it changes from a limited-access freeway into an at-grade divided highway with traffic lights, but still with a high speed limit of 65 miles per hour (105 km/h), and ends at the J. B. Jones Intersection at SR 60/SR 115 in Lumpkin County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cloverleaf interchange</span> A type of interchange using loop ramps

A cloverleaf interchange is a two-level interchange in which all turns are handled by slip roads. To go left, vehicles first continue as one road passes over or under the other, then exit right onto a one-way three-fourths loop ramp (270°) and merge onto the intersecting road. The objective of a cloverleaf is to allow two highways to cross without the need for any traffic to be stopped by traffic lights. The limiting factor in the capacity of a cloverleaf interchange is traffic weaving.

Stone Mountain Freeway is a freeway in the north-central part of the U.S. state of Georgia. It connects Interstate 285 (I-285) east of Atlanta, with the suburbs of Stone Mountain and Snellville before transitioning into an arterial road that continues to Athens. The freeway is signed as U.S. Route 78 (US 78) for its entire length, with the western half signed as State Route 410 (SR 410), and the eastern half also being signed as SR 10. It begins at the US 29/US 78 split northeast of Decatur, and continues east through eastern DeKalb and southern Gwinnett counties. The portion of Stone Mountain Freeway from I-285 to the Dekalb/Gwinnett county line is alternatively designated as Bill Evans Highway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgia Department of Transportation</span> Government agency in Georgia, United States

The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) is the organization in charge of developing and maintaining all state and federal roadways in the U.S. state of Georgia. In addition to highways, the department also has a limited role in developing public transportation and general aviation programs. GDOT is headquartered in downtown Atlanta and is part of the executive branch of state government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spaghetti junction</span> Intertwined road traffic interchange

Spaghetti junction is a nickname sometimes given to a complex or massively intertwined road traffic interchange that is said to resemble a plate of spaghetti. Such interchanges may incorporate a variety of interchange design elements in order to maximize connectivity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgia State Route 316</span> Highway in Georgia, United States

State Route 316 (SR 316), also known as University Parkway, or Georgia 316, is a 38.9-mile-long (62.6 km) state highway that exists in the northern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. It links the Atlanta metropolitan area with Athens, home of the University of Georgia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgia State Route 141</span> Highway in Georgia

State Route 141 (SR 141) is a 34.1-mile-long (54.9 km) state highway that runs southwest-to-northeast in the northwest part of the U.S. state of Georgia. It connects the Buckhead area of Atlanta with Cumming. Its routing exists within portions of Fulton, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Forsyth counties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 675 (Georgia)</span> Highway in Georgia

Interstate 675 (I-675) is an 11.04-mile-long (17.77 km) auxiliary Interstate Highway in the southeast part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. It travels from I-75 in Stockbridge in the south to I-285 in the north. I-675 is also designated as the Terrell Starr Parkway and also has the unsigned internal state route designation of State Route 413 (SR 413).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interchange (road)</span> Road junction that uses grade separation

In the field of road transport, an interchange or a grade-separated junction is a road junction that uses grade separations to allow for the movement of traffic between two or more roadways or highways, using a system of interconnecting roadways to permit traffic on at least one of the routes to pass through the junction without interruption from crossing traffic streams. It differs from a standard intersection, where roads cross at grade. Interchanges are almost always used when at least one road is a controlled-access highway or a limited-access divided highway (expressway), though they are sometimes used at junctions between surface streets.

The Northwest Corridor Express Lanes and locally known as the Tollercoaster, is a completed Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) project which has put Peach Pass-only toll lanes along Interstate 75 (I-75) and I-575 in the northwestern suburbs of the Atlanta metropolitan area. It carries traffic between northwest Atlanta and Cobb and Cherokee counties by adding two lanes for paying vehicles along I-75, with one continuing up a dedicated exit onto I-575 to Sixes Road, and the other straight on I-75 to Hickory Grove Road, just past Wade Green Road. North of the interchange where they split, the new lanes are located in the median, between the original northbound and southbound lanes. From the Perimeter to I-575, the road had already been built with 12 to 16 lanes, which required other plans, including via eminent domain.

A directional interchange, colloquially known as a stack interchange, is a type of grade-separated junction between two controlled-access highways that allows for free-flowing movement to and from all directions of traffic. These interchanges eliminate the problems of weaving, have the highest vehicle capacity, and vehicles travel shorter distances when compared to different types of interchanges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 85 in Georgia</span> Section of Interstate Highway in Georgia, United States

Interstate 85 (I-85) is a major Interstate Highway that travels northeast–southwest in the US state of Georgia. It enters the state at the Alabama state line near West Point, and Lanett, Alabama, traveling through the Atlanta metropolitan area and to the South Carolina state line, where it crosses the Savannah River near Lake Hartwell. I-85 connects North Georgia with Montgomery, Alabama, to the southwest, and with South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia to the northeast. Within Georgia, I-85 is also designated as the unsigned State Route 403 (SR 403).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outer Perimeter</span> Highway in Georgia

The Outer Perimeter is a freeway originally planned to encircle Atlanta, in the U.S. state of Georgia about 20 to 25 miles outside of Interstate 285, which is colloquially referred to as the Perimeter and is a point of reference for local travel outside Atlanta's city core.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freedom Park (Atlanta, Georgia)</span>

Freedom Park is one of the largest city parks in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The park forms a cross shape with the axes crossing at the Carter Center. The park stretches west-east from Parkway Drive, just west of Boulevard, to the intersection with the north-south BeltLine Eastside Trail, to Candler Park, and north-south from Ponce de Leon Avenue to the Inman Park/Reynoldstown MARTA station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 85 in Alabama</span> Section of Interstate Highway in Alabama, United States

Interstate 85 (I-85) is a part of the Interstate Highway System that runs from Montgomery, Alabama, to Petersburg, Virginia. In Alabama, the Interstate Highway runs 80 miles (130 km) from I-65 in Montgomery northeast to the Georgia state line near Valley. Although it is nominally north–south as it carries an odd number, I-85 travels east–west through the state. It is the primary highway between Montgomery and Atlanta. The Interstate also connects Montgomery with Tuskegee, Auburn, Opelika, and, indirectly, Phenix City and Columbus, Georgia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 20 in Georgia</span> Interstate Highway in Georgia

In the US state of Georgia, Interstate 20 (I-20) travels from the Alabama state line to the Savannah River, which is the South Carolina state line. The highway enters the state near Tallapoosa. It travels through the Atlanta metropolitan area and exits the state in Augusta. The highway also travels through the cities of Bremen, Douglasville, Conyers, Covington, and Madison. I-20 has the unsigned state highway designation of State Route 402 (SR 402).

Georgia Navigator is an Advanced Traffic Management System used in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is operated by the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT), and was first activated in April 1996, just before the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.

References

  1. "Tom Moreland Interchange" (PDF).
  2. 1 2 3 Laning, Anne (February 1, 1992). "Tom Moreland Interchange cures Atlanta traffic woes". Concrete Construction. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  3. 1 2 Johnston, Louis; Williamson, Samuel H. (2023). "What Was the U.S. GDP Then?". MeasuringWorth . Retrieved November 30, 2023. United States Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the MeasuringWorth series.
  4. Lichtenstein Consulting Engineers (March 2007). Historic Context of the Interstate Highway System in Georgia (PDF) (Report). Georgia Department of Transportation. Retrieved August 19, 2022.
  5. 1 2 Bell, Chuck (July 10, 1987). "DeKalb 'Malfunction Junction' officially named for Moreland". The Atlanta Constitution. p. 12E. Retrieved January 29, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  6. Pendered, David (August 29, 1985). "Open superhighway ramp eases traffic". The Atlanta Journal, The Atlanta Constitution. p. 9 J. Retrieved June 21, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Interchange project at I-85 north/I-285". The Atlanta Constitution. February 21, 1984. p. 14-A. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  8. Ledford, Joey (July 30, 2004). "'Spaghetti Junction' took getting used to". The Atlanta Constitution. p. 2C. Retrieved January 31, 2021 via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Atlantans, Edgar Wright's Baby Driver Is a Serious Love Letter to Your City". Paste Magazine. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
  10. "Stream Quality Control Music's 'Control the Streets Volume 1' - XXL". XXL Mag. Retrieved July 3, 2018.