Gwinnett Daily Post

LAWRENCEVILLE -- Members of the public will have another chance this month to give their opinions on a proposal to convert high-occupancy vehicle lanes on Interstate 85 to high-occupancy toll lanes.

The proposal, which is funded by a federal grant, first came before the public this summer, but people will get one last chance to comment on the toll proposal, which would range from 10 cents to $1 a mile, depending on congestion. The toll lanes would stretch 16 miles from Chamblee Tucker Road to just north of Old Peachtree Road.

"We hope our customers, the users of this portion of Interstate 85, will come and share their opinions with us at the public hearing open house," DOT Chief Engineer Gerald Ross said.

The open house is scheduled for 3 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Gwinnett Center, located at 6400 Sugarloaf Parkway in Duluth.

In addition, e-mail comments may be sent to hotlanecomment@jacobs.com, and written statements may be submitted to I-85 HOV to HOT Project, Comments, 1718 Peachtree Street, NW, Suite 400, Atlanta, Ga. 30309

All statements should be sent by Nov. 23. The displays at the public hearing open house will be available for 10 days for review after the public hearing open house at the office of GDOT District 1, located at 2505 Athens Highway, S.E., Gainesville, Ga., 30503 as well as the office of GDOT District 7, located at 5025 New Peachtree Road, Chamblee, Ga., 30341.

After the meeting, officials said all the information will be available on the DOT Web site at www.dot.ga.gov under the "Public Outreach" section.