The main southbound off-ramp connecting SR 400 to the North Springs MARTA station, Abernathy Road, and Hammond Drive will close this summer, the Georgia Department of Transportation announced Thursday, July 23. No exact date has been set. GDOT said in its July newsletter that commuters should expect additional details in the coming weeks.
The closure of Exit 5 is the first major ramp shutdown of the $4.6 billion SR 400 Express Lanes project, and it lands squarely in Sandy Springs' busiest commercial corridor. Hammond Drive and Abernathy Road feed directly into the Perimeter Center office district, home to Mercedes-Benz USA, Cox Enterprises, and thousands of daily commuters who park at North Springs MARTA.
GDOT has not said how long the closure will last or whether Exit 5 will reopen before the project's 2031 completion target.
Two temporary exits
When Exit 5 closes, GDOT will simultaneously open two replacement ramps:
- Exit 5A — serves Abernathy Road and Hammond Drive, located about a mile south of the current exit.
- Exit 5B — a transit-only ramp serving North Springs MARTA, about half a mile south.
Because both temporary ramps sit south of the current exit, southbound drivers will pass their usual turnoff and use surface streets to reach Abernathy or Hammond. SR 400 carries more than 250,000 vehicles per day, according to GDOT's July 2026 newsletter.
Tree clearing returns in August
Separately, GDOT announced that tree clearing will resume on six sections of the corridor in early August. The entire city of Sandy Springs falls within Segment A of the project, which stretches south to the Chattahoochee River.
Motorists may notice minor shoulder reductions and restriping through early August as crews prepare for upcoming traffic shifts.
So far, most lane closures and construction work have been limited to overnight hours, between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m.
Bigger picture
The express lanes project broke ground in April 2026. A joint venture of Flatiron Construction and Dragados, along with Madrid-based Acciona Construction, is building the 16-mile corridor under a 56-year public-private partnership with GDOT and the State Road and Tollway Authority. Completion is targeted for 2031.
GDOT projects the finished lanes will save commuters up to 17 minutes per peak-hour trip. The project also includes a bus rapid transit component that MARTA will operate along roughly 12 miles of the express lanes.
On July 15, the Fulton County Board of Commissioners approved a memorandum of understanding with GDOT to relocate sewer lines along SR 400 from Northland Drive to North Springs MARTA at no cost to the county.
GDOT has not announced a public meeting specific to the Exit 5 closure. The project's contractor is hosting a community event Saturday, September 26, from 9 a.m. to noon at GDOT District 7 offices in Chamblee.
