We Owe It to Ourselves

Henry R. Batten, LLCC President & CEO

I’m usually not very good at writing stuff like this, but after a post on Facebook today from a friend from high school in Raleigh, I feel compelled to put these thoughts into writing.

I feel extremely fortunate to live in what I believe to be one of the most culturally diverse communities in Metro Atlanta. Several years ago many of us got together to see how we could harness this diverse populace and its unusual energy to better the lives of everyone within our “borders”.

We established a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation called the Lindbergh LaVista Corridor Coalition. We then applied for and were awarded a $50,000 grant by The Georgia Conservancy and Georgia Tech to study the three neighborhoods that make up our coalition: LaVista Park, Lindridge-Martin Manor, and Woodland Hills.

During this study we discovered many things about ourselves that we didn’t know. The estimated population of this community was in excess of 10,000 people! That’s larger than many small towns in South Georgia.

About 20% of those people are Hispanic. We also discovered that within our local elementary school, there were 23 different languages being spoken. This Hispanic population was right under our noses, but since they were concentrated in two or three “pockets”, many of us overlooked them. We began to ask ourselves how could we reach out to this large segment of people and make them more a part of our community. We recognized that there were large cultural and language barriers.

With another grant from Edelman (a large multi-national PR firm), and with the financial, physical and volunteer assistance of Westminster Presbyterian Church (an LLCC member organization that contributed as much money to this effort as some churches in Raleigh did to deny people their rights), and the cooperation of the Mexican Consulate General (also located in our community), we established a Hispanic English as a Second Language (ESL) Program. In addition to teaching students to read and speak English, the local branch manager of Regions Bank (an LLCC member) came to instruct people how to use banks and write checks, local EMTs came to teach CPR, two local police precincts sent officers to talk about community policing, and dietitians came to talk about nutrition, health and cooking. One evening a week we sponsored soccer games on the athletic field at the church so the fathers could spend quality time with their families.

This Hispanic population was very timid at first, unsure of what our true motives were. They were particularly skeptical of the police officers. We knew that many of them were “illegals,” but we never asked that question of them. It was our goal to include these people in our community, not run them away.

When the school district within the city limits of Atlanta was planning a realignment of attendance zones that would have a tremendous impact of these folks, we hosted community meetings where folks could express their concerns and ask questions. Let me tell you, these people “truly care” about the education of their children! These meetings had the largest attendance of any meetings that we’ve had! It thrilled my heart to see this kind of participation from a once marginalized population.

There are those who say that we don’t owe illegals anything and that they don’t belong here. I disagree. Not only did we owe these people the opportunity to become part of our community, we owe it to ourselves. Otherwise, we would be cutting ourselves off from the vast amount of talent, energy and cultural heritage that makes our community so special.

What’s Up With Trail Under SR-400 & I-85

Love the Bright Orange Road Construction Barrels? You’re in Luck!

February’s weather cost the Georgia DOT contractor two weeks of work on flyover ramps linking Interstate 85  to SR-400. Traffic on Cheshire Bridge Road and Lindbergh Drive will keep dodging construction barrels at least until April.

Loren Bartlett, DOT project manager, says the project continues to move as fast as possible because of financial penalties in the state contract with Archer Western.

“The contract calls for $1869 daily penalties,” she says, noting it was to be complete by January 14, 2014.

What about the two weeks when ice and snow kept Atlanta immobile?

 

The Department will consider inclement weather as
reason to be exempt from daily fines.  The project construction budget is at $21 million. (AW’s contract is $21,423,500 for better accuracy.)

The nature trail along the creek is coming into clearer view as the ramps above are connected. By March 1 contractors laid beds of large stone along the creek, topping it with smaller gravel and compacting them into a smooth trail. The largest bridge across the main span of the North Fork is in place.  Several smaller culverts across feeder creeks will be part of the trail. At least one is poured on site, and others are expected in early March.  Decorative fences and approaches leading to the main bridge are likely to be among the last elements to be built.

Sally Sears 

Executive Director, The South Fork Conservancy

Spread the Word – Taste & Tour of Cheshire Bridge 2013 – Oct. 9

You may or may not think of Cheshire Bridge Road as a foodie destination or the ideal location for taste and tour event, but coming in 1 week will be the Taste & Tour of Cheshire Bridge 2013.  Truth is, the corridor is not only known for its strip clubs and sex shops, but it has a number of good restaurants and retailers that have had rave reviews over the years.  Spread the News and support Cheshire Bridge businesses in a positive way.

Participating Merchants & Hours:

Ghion Cultural Hall & California Mart – 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM Nino’s Italian Restaurant – 5:30 PM – 11:00 PM Nakato’s Japanese Restaurant – 5:30 PM – 10:00 PM New Baby Products – 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM Antiques & Beyond – 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM Taqueria del Sol – 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM & 5:30 PM – 9:00 PM The Colonnade – 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM Habersham Gardens – 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM Alfredo’s Italian Restaurant – 5:00 PM – 11:00 PM **Ursula’s Cooking School – 3:00 PM – 8:00 PM** Johnny’s New York Style Pizza – 11:00 AM – 11:00 PM Return to Eden – 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM **These merchants will be giving out free samples..

No need to buy tickets. Simply visit your favorite participating merchants throughout the event day and spend money! Buy merchandise and/or order from their regular menus. Have lunch, then browse the stores, have cocktails at one, appetizers  at another, main course at another, and dessert at yet another. These  merchants will donate a percentage of their daily sales (5%-20%) to the  event. Be sure to thank our merchants for their participation!

Proceeds from the event will be shared between Lindbergh LaVista Corridor Coalition (LLCC) and the Marcus Autism Center.

From Midtown Patch: http://midtown.patch.com/groups/business-news/p/spread-the-word–taste–tour-of-cheshire-bridge-2013–oct-9

One Stop Shop Taking Shape on Cheshire Bridge Road

Dennis Tomlinson plans to open what he envisions as a general store of sorts at the corner of Cheshire Bridge and LaVista Roads in the former Ace Hardware. The as yet unnamed new store will be a little bit of everything and has been in the works since January. The space, roughly 7000 square feet, will be part barter, part furniture re-finishing and is nearly 100% repurposed or reused materials, aside from three newly installed windows in the front of the space.

Tomlinson is friends with Paul Brown at Gallery 63 in Sandy Springs as well as Rick Dale of Las Vegas-based Rick’s Restorations. Brown’s Gallery 63 is featured in Auction Kings on the Discovery Channel while Rick Dale and his restoration business are featured on the hit History Channel show American Restoration. Tomlinson tells me that he has been contacted by the History Channel about the possibility of a show and that this new store will give him the space to possibly do a show in the future.

Personally I’m a fan of stores like this, and am eagerly anticipating the opening. I like the fact that Tomlinson is anti-pawn shop as he sees them as a predatory business and says it’s like their “kicking someone while they’re already down.” Tomlinson’s shop will take in just about anything from anyone so long as there is value and he sees a market for it. Got a “this,” and want a “that,”? Bring it in and he’ll make a deal.

Tomlinson’s recent businesses have been related to the restoration and resale of motorcycles at his shop in Chamblee though he also has experience with eBay as well as furniture restoration, and also recalls having built some of the first Taco Bell and KFC restaurants in the south. Basically, Tomlinson is a jack of all trades and by his own admission, is a collector of everything.

The store is basically fully stocked already, according to Tomlinson. He’s been collecting for years and says among other things, vintage gas pumps, coke machines and motorcycles will be for sale or trade.

On a recent trip to Asheville, North Carolina, I came across a store similar to what Tomlinson is opening called Treasure Hunters. The store, located in Biltmore Square Mall, was a smorgasbord of stuff, with signs posted stating “we buy and sell anything of value.” Tomlinson’s store will be similar, but he plans to have it be a trading post of sorts, with things of more value than the cups and silverware I saw being hawked in Asheville.

It’s likely the store will be named something along the lines of “One Stop Shop,” and if successful, Tomlinson hopes to expand into the adjacent former Happy Herman’s space, another 7,000 square feet. This space would be dedicated to higher end merchandise, he says, whereas the Ace space will be more general merchandise. The current space will receive a vintage looking mural on the LaVista Road side and the Cheshire Bridge entrance will come to resemble a fire station.

Store one has been a labor of love since the lease was signed in January, and has included many 12 or 14 hour workdays. As of now, the store should open by early November. Tomlinson anticipates opening as many as twenty additional stores in the coming years, in smaller towns outside of Atlanta.

from Tomorrow’s News Today – Atlanta

City, Neighbors Have Long Discussion Over Sewer Tank

ByEden Landow

The city of Atlanta, under the gun to meet a federal court-ordered consent decree deadline to substantially improve its wastewater management infrastructure, is trying a third time to build a massive storage tank somewhere near the confluence of the south and north forks of Peachtree Creek, but once again running into neighborhood concerns.

Neighbors turned out last week for a meeting at Rock Springs Presbyterian Church to find out more about the project and voice their concerns, which included security, odor, effect to property values, unsightliness, sewer gas odors and unforeseen problems.

They complained the community is “taking one for the team” by being unduly impacted with massive projects, including the Ga. 400 interchange, Clifton Corridor rail construction, Georgia Power Co.  transmission lines — and now this water-management project.

“What is our neighborhood doing to get in exchange for this,” some asked.

The project is about 60 percent through the design stage and would include building one 10-million gallon, raised overflow tank off Cheshire Bridge Road at 2061 Liddell Drive. The tank would be about 55 feet tall and 185 feet wide, with a pumping station and electrical station on the flood plain at 2001 Cheshire Bridge Rd., near the north end of Lenox Road.

Plans call for tunneling diluted sewage overflow under Cheshire Bridge Road to the Liddell Road tank when the main system is overcapacity, which is usually about once a month, said EDT Waterworks principal engineer Donald Fry, who explained the project in a slideshow presentation.

By email, Lindbergh-Lavista Corridor Coalition board member Courtney Harkness said, “The City of Atlanta has a decision to make: Does it want to redevelop the Cheshire Bridge corridor or does it want to make the area an industrial dumping ground? If the City goes forward with this sewer project off of Cheshire Bridge Road, we will know what path they have chosen.”

Fry said the city needs to do something to protect the creeks and environment and that the city believes this is the best and most cost-effective way to do it.

The project is estimated to cost about $35 million.

“We selected the center of the only commercial and industrial area in the vicinity,” Fry said.

The project, sited on city-owned land, will effectively double the capacity of the current flow. He said the project is not foreseen to ever have more tanks, though he said the site is large enough for  a second one.

The city initially planned to build the overflow tanks off Zonolite Road, then relocated the project off Kay Lane. Both locations were taken off the table after residents and business owners fought against building the project.

According to Sharon Matthews, senior watershed director for the city of Atlanta, to comply with the consent decree, the city must have construction completed in June 2014 and that construction would begin on this facility around the first of the year.

Harkness said the group is concerned the city’s 1999 Cheshire Bridge redevelopment plan would be jeopardized.

“This is the future Cheshire Bridge neighborhood, a multi-ethnic community that integrates open-air shopping, dining and entertainment with new residential development,” Harkness said. “A 55 ft. x 185 ft. sewer tank that will only be used, by the City’s estimation, for four to six hours each month to handle sewer overflow, at a cost to taxpayers of nearly $40 million, does not jibe with this redevelopment plan at all.”

Area residents, who worked to get the City to develop this plan in 1999 and then again to get the City to rezone Cheshire Bridge Road to Neighborhood Commercial (NC) zoning in 2005, feel abandoned by the City and its leadership with the proposal of this sewer tank project, she said.

Matthews said the tank can be built with architectural features and landscaping so that it will not diminish the looks of the community.

Harkness said the community feels the “burden of achieving clean water is being ‘dumped’ on in  this area of town, even though the issue affects a much larger area. They feel that other neighborhoods and jurisdictions (Buckhead, DeKalb County) that are affected by Peachtree Creek should also have to come to the table to solve this issue.”

“The only positive part of this project is that it (supposedly) will keep sewer run off out of Peachtree Creek,” Harkness said. “However, area residents feel that the burden of achieving clean water is being ‘dumped’ on this area of town, even though the issue affects a much larger area.”

An initial community meeting was cancelled last month “due to issues that have to be addressed with internal stakeholders.”

To read the entire article and add your comments, go to the Virginia-Highland/Druid Hills Patch by clicking on this link:

http://vahi.patch.com/articles/city-neighbors-have-long-discussion-over-sewer-tank

Sewer Tanks May Affect All Three LLCC Neighborhoods

This graphic represents a similar tank system in Gwinnett County. Remember that DWM is proposing two of these on the Liddell Drive site.
This tank is painted with a forest scene to help disguise it.

 

The City of Atlanta (COA) Department of Watershed Management (DWM) is planning on building an overflow sewage capacity system in the Lindridge Martin Manor and Morningside Lenox Park neighborhoods. DWM plans to locate two 10-12 million gallon tanks which will stand 15-30 feet above ground on their property at 2061 Liddell Drive NE, off Cheshire Bridge Road behind Barking Hound Village MAP . The mechanicals i.e. pumping station, electrical station etc. will be located on the flood plain property at 2001 Cheshire Bridge Road NE MAP which is currently owned by Salem Broadcasting where the transmission towers are located.

In the event of overcapacity in the main trunk, a tunneled pipe would carry diluted sewage overflow under Cheshire Bridge Road through active pumping to the above ground tanks on the Liddell property, and as capacity in the main trunk dissipated, would then release the overflow back into the main trunk through gravity flow.

This graphic represents the possible coverage of any odor discharge, based on prevailing wind patterns of southwest to northeast.
Plans do call for odor control measures to be put into place.
Click image to enlarge.

Despite its COA location, given the direction of prevailing winds there is the potential for impact in neighboring DeKalb County as well. To learn more, plan to attend a public meeting hosted by DWM on Wednesday, May 30th at 6:30 pm at Rock Springs Presbyterian Church located at 1824 Piedmont Avenue NE MAP .

Areas to be tested for lead

By  Bo Emerson

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The Environmental Protection Agency will test for toxic lead residue in Morningside and other Atlanta neighborhoods surrounding a former lead-smelting factory, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has learned.

At 740 Lambert Drive N.E., near Cheshire Bridge and Piedmont, the Metalico Evans factory processed 5,000 tons of lead a year from 1935 until the mid-1990s. Until 1977, it operated without air pollution control devices.

The factory was replaced by a cement plant in 2003. Bulldozers leveled the buildings and scraped away the soil before the cement company took ownership.

But for several decades lead dust would have left the factory chimneys to drift over the thousands of residences in the nearby Lindbergh, Cheshire Bridge and Morningside neighborhoods.

Lead is a neurotoxin that accumulates in the body and can cause brain damage, reduced intelligence, developmental problems, stunted growth, seizures and death. Lead dust can drift three to five miles from a factory source.

Inquiries about the defunct factory from a reporter at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2009 led to an EPA assessment of the risks posed by fallout and runoff. This month, USA Today published the results of a yearlong investigation into hundreds of similar “ghost factories” around the country, mentioning three Atlanta facilities.

The EPA’s assessment and a subsequent analysis, completed in March, caused enough concern to warrant the additional soil tests, EPA officials said. At the Lambert Drive site, the EPA found soil with lead concentrations above the 400 parts-per-million considered safe by the agency, but no sampling was done outside the boundaries of the factory site.

The preliminary analysis “assumes a release [of lead dust] exists,” EPA Region 4 spokesman James Pinkney said in a written statement. Pinkney said the EPA is developing a plan to sample the soil in residential yards around the former factory, and the soil of waterways that drain the area. That sampling will begin this summer, he said.

The EPA declined requests for a phone interview to discuss in greater detail the potential for contamination and the history of the agency’s actions to safeguard residents.

The agency has not yet alerted residents of neighborhoods around the plant about any potential hazard in their soil. Several told the AJC they were unaware that a lead factory ever existed nearby.

“Nobody’s mentioned it,” said Dot Marrinson, 91, who has lived in Morningside since 1963.

Rich Sussman, a retired National Parks Service executive, who’s lived and gardened in the area since 1974, said he had no inkling there was a smelting factory less than a mile from his house. “I never knew it was there.”

There were at least two other sites in Atlanta where lead apparently was processed, both owned by the Miller Metal Co. One was in a spot now occupied by the Williams Street exit from the Downtown Connector. The other was in an area on downtown’s Decatur Street that became the Grady Homes housing project, owned by the Atlanta Housing Authority.

When the apartments at Grady Homes were slated for demolition in 2006 to make way for redevelopment, the EPA suggested that the housing authority conduct further testing at the property.

The AHA removed a few thousand tons of contaminated soil in 2008, before transforming the area into a mixed-use apartment community called Ashley at Auburn Pointe, according to AHA spokesman Rick White.

When it settles to the ground, lead tends to bind with bare soil, according to Marsha Black, associate professor in environmental health science at the University of Georgia’s College of Public Health. It poses a special danger to growing children who might play in the dirt and then put dirty hands or dirty toys in their mouths.

Local and federal environmental officials “should have done a lot more in the last few years” to inform residents about the area’s history, said Colleen Kiernan, director of the Georgia Chapter of the Sierra Club. “If credible evidence demonstrates that people are at risk, there should be some path toward addressing the problem,” she said.

Based on its investigation to date, the EPA has raised concerns about possible waterborne lead contamination. The Lambert Drive property drains into the south fork of Peachtree Creek, and from there into the Chattahoochee River. Lead dust that washed off the property would have ended up in the creek sediment, and possibly been ingested by any of the dozens of fish species that live there.

The EPA’s report pointed out that fishermen catch many of those fish, and that some anglers consume what they catch.

Sussman also sometimes makes a supper from his backyard bounty of radishes, lettuce, carrots, beets and basil. A Master Gardener, he’s had his soil tested many times — for nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. But not for lead.

He never thought it necessary.

He still doubts there’s any need. But he’d like to know.

Staff writer Craig Schneider contributed to this article.

 

Find this article at:

http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/areas-to-be-tested-1428380.html

Public Meeting About Nature Trail Set for April 10

By Sally Sears

A plan to link two  major nature preserves in Virginia-Highland and Morningside is gaining momentum in the neighborhood.

The South Fork Conservancy and  Park Pride are leading discussions about a trail along the south fork of  Peachtree Creek connecting Morningside Nature Preserve and Herbert  Taylor-Daniel Johnson Nature Preserve.

The first public meeting scheduled for Tuesday, April 10 at 6 p.m. at Haygood  Methodist Church could demonstrate some of the benefits and challenges  of creating more greenspace with easy access to walkers, joggers and  perhaps bikers.

Creek  cleanups and trail building are expected later in the spring.

Here’s  what one avid creek paddler found on a cleanup downstream from Cheshire  Bridge Road.

From Richard Grove, Georgia Kayaker:

There are good river days and there are great river days. Today was a great one. Today  after 9.5 hours, 25 more tires were removed along with 3 shopping  carts, some carpet, a picnic table umbrella, 3 golf balls, mirror,  fishing reel, vehicle tail light lens, sleeping bag, trash can lid, PVC  pipe, wire, metal stud, shoes, shirts, roof shingles, safety fence, silt  fence, fire extinguisher, lots of aluminum cans, plastic bags &  bottles, a disposable razor. Still looking for a toothbrush. The pile is  huge. Next work day will be from Cheshire Bridge Road.

I have  never removed a Herbie trash container or a shopping cart from the  river. I thought the Herbie was a bear to get out but nothing compared  to the shopping carts which took more than an hour to dig each one out.
One  day next week I will cut up the tree in the river across from the trash  pile area which will make the river look much better from that view  point.

I see and hear people walking the trail when I am in the  river working but the only chance I get to talk to anyone is when I’m  either starting or finishing and at my truck.. When I was cleaning in  the area of the trash pile several people came to the riverbank to say,  hello. Sunday I met a couple who walk the trail several times a week.

A  year from now there will probably be less trash in the river but more  on the trail. Fact-of-life, Americans are pigs. Where they go so come  their trash.

Sally Sears is the Executive Director of the South Fork Conservancy,  a nonprofit that seeks to restore, conserve and protect the Riparian systems of the South Fork of Peachtree Creek Watershed. Follow South Fork on Facebook. Learn more on their website.

Clifton Corridor Transit Initiative Announces Locally Preferred Alternative

by Jane P. Rawlings, LLCC Transportation Coordinator

 

MARTA Planning staff has completed the review of community feedback and technical analysis and have finalized a recommended locally preferred alternative (LPA) for the Clifton Corridor. The LPA is the alternative that, based on technical analysis and stakeholder input, would most effectively address the needs of the corridor and goals and objectives of the project.

The recommended LPA includes 8.8 miles of new light rail transit (LRT) service connecting the Lindbergh MARTA Station to the Emory/Clifton Corridor and beyond to the Avondale MARTA Station. The recommendation for the locally preferred alternative includes several tunnels and one of those tunnels extends from an area west of Lenox Road to an area just west of Briarcliff Road.

MARTA Planning staff will present the LPA recommendation to the MARTA Planning and External Relations Committee on March 26 at 10:00 a.m. and to the MARTA Board on April 9 at 1:30 p.m.  There will be a public comment period prior to the Board meeting only.  Both meetings will be held at:

MARTA Headquarters, 6th Floor Board Room, 2424 Piedmont Road, Atlanta, GA 30324.

Upon MARTA Board approval, the agency will present the LPA to the Atlanta Regional Commission for adoption and incorporation into the long-range transportation plan. Afterwards, the LPA will be advanced through the next step in the federal project development process which is the completion of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). This study will go into much more detailed level of analysis as compared to the Alternatives Analysis (AA).

The Lindbergh LaVista Corridor Coalition (LLCC) in conjunction with the Morningside Lenox Park Association (MLPA), and the Woodland Hills Neighborhood Association (WHNA) hired Heather Alhadeff, Senior Transportation Planner with Perkins + Will, to assist us in disseminating information to the public, collecting this input, and preparing a formal document for inclusion in the AA. This document which includes a summary along with all results and comments from our surveys is included. To view this report click HERE. Inclusion in the report best positions our communities in the federal process moving forward.

The Fact Sheet recently released by MARTA has concerned some in our community as it did not mention tunneling of the project or a Morningside station. The purpose of a Fact Sheet is to comment ONLY on the alignment and technology preferences for the project. It is not intended to address the project in great detail. For this type of information one will have to review the study document. I have reached out to Jason Morgan, Project Manager, for the CCTI requesting additional summary details regarding the second segment (from Cheshire Bridge to Briarcliff) as I have received emails with questions. I share below his comments in an effort to address some of these matters and provide clarity to the public.

Email correspondence from Jason Morgan, Project Manager MARTA:

The fact sheet that has been distributed does not preclude the tunnel.  The tunnel is part of the proposal. In fact, there are three tunnels that are included with the proposal. The second and third tunnels are further east along the alignment. The fact sheet is not intended to go into the details regarding where every tunnel or elevated structure is located.  We have other materials which illustrate the specific station concepts and tunnel proposals. We have done our best to balance the comments from members of the community throughout the entire project corridor with our best technical analysis. The LLCC report has provided valuable insight into the perspective of residents in this section of the corridor, but the project team must consider cost and potential construction issues as well.

With that said:

• A bored light rail tunnel is proposed to run parallel to and beneath the northside of CSX  right-of-way.
• The tunnel depth will be a  minimum of 55 feet.  The specifics of the tunnel design will be  determined during the Environmental Impact Study which has been targeted to begin later this year.
• Specific impacts and compensation are quantified during the Environmental Impact Study and in accordance with guidelines identified within the National Environmental Policy Act. Keep in mind, this corridor is 8.8 miles long and most of the potential impacts or displacements we can estimate at this stage are in areas where the alignment is above ground.
• While a station at Lenox Road was requested to be examined, ultimately many residents expressed trepidation about having a station close to their homes.  In addition, there was a significant additional estimated cost associated with building a subway station at this location.  The suggestion from attendees at the October 25 meeting as well via many comments was to add a walking trail that would connect Lenox Road to the station at Cheshire Bridge.  This trail could be integrated with the South Fork of Peachtree Creek trail as well as others.

Revised station concepts and alignment concepts are currently being updated to the project website (www.itsmarta.com/clifton-corr.aspx). MARTA hopes to have everything activated by later this week.

SR-400/I-85 Connector Ramps Update

This project, which will reconstruct the interchange of Ga. 400 and I-85 by providing connector ramps from Ga. 400 southbound to I-85 northbound and from I-85 southbound to Ga. 400 northbound, is scheduled to begin in late February, Georgia DOT spokesman Mark McKinnon told Q&A on the News in an email. The project will cost $21.5 million and is scheduled to be completed by Dec. 31, 2013. Archer Western Contractors is the contractor. Also, a pedestrian trail, which will include a bridge across North Fork Peachtree Creek, will be constructed from Cheshire Bridge Road to Lenox Road.

To see an animation of the new interchange, use the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbi_jVclZLM