Ribbon Cutting Today For New Ridgewalk Interchange

UPDATE @ 8:14 a.m.: the city has cancelled today's ribbon cutting due to the weather. It will be rescheduled for a later date.

The city of Woodstock today will host a ribbon cutting for the new Ridgewalk interchange.

The ribbon cutting will be held at 10 a.m. near the site. Since rain is expected to linger in the area during the morning hours, the city has made parking available off Rope Mill Road at Olde Rope Mill Park. A shuttle will take attendees from the park to the site of the ribbon cutting starting at 9:30 a.m. 

The design-build project officially wrapped up on  Nov. 16, about six weeks ahead of its Dec. 31 completion date. 

The project entailed building a diamond-shaped interchange, replacing the existing Rope Mill Road bridge over the interstate, realigning Rope Mill Road to intersect with Ridgewalk Parkway and installing auxiliary lanes between the new interchange and Towne Lake Parkway.

The new interchange will be Exit 9 and sits between the Towne Lake Parkway and Sixes Road interchanges.

Woodstock City Manager Jeff Moon said city staff has received a few phone calls inquiring about the lack of traffic signals when cars come to the exit ramps' intersection with Ridgewalk Parkway.

He noted GDOT is responsible for the installation of the signals as the interchange was a state project.

"Red lights are part of the Ridgewalk widening project that will be done in conjunction with the relocation of Woodstock Parkway and the Horizons project," he added. 

GDOT Spokesperson Mohamed Arafa said "projected volumes (at the interchange) did not warrant signals."

City officials believe the new interchange will provide much-needed traffic relief on both Towne Lake Parkway and Sixes Road. Moon said the city hasn't tracked the number of cars using the interchange since it's a state highway, but added GDOT officials believe the new interchange could reduce traffic at the Towne Lake Parkway interchange by 30 percent. 

GDOT in 2010 awarded a $17.1 million contract to C.W. Matthews to perform the interchange construction with a deadline to complete the project by Dec. 31, 2012. 

The project's completion comes ahead of the highly anticipated Outlet Shoppes at Atlanta's opening in August 2013. The 370,000 square foot facility will have more than 80 retail outlets, including stores such as Nike, Saks Fifth Avenue, Brooks Brothers, Levis, Talbots and Carters, among other stores.