ATLANTA — Drivers are one step closer to relief from one of the worst bottlenecks in the nation.

The stretch of roadway where Interstate 285 merges with Interstate 20 in west Atlanta is ranked No. 6 on American Transportation Research Institute’s top 100 worst truck bottlenecks.

The company collects truck GPS data to measure the movement of freight across highways. The institute said that is critical in understand where improvements should be made.

Since 2018, Georgia Department of Transportation has been developing plans to fix the I-285/I-20 bottleneck. On Friday, GDOT announced it selected a company based in Atlanta called Legacy Infrastructure Contractors to lead the $1.2 billion-dollar project.

The work is set to start in 2025. GDOT expects most of it to be completed by 2030.

“Oh yeah, sure,” laughed Sherella Saunders. “I mean, it’s the plan I’ve been hearing about for a while.”

Saunders was one of many drivers to speak about the problem.

“You can’t get around it. So, what do you do?” said Saunders.

Saunders had to go through it. It was 10:15 am Wednesday, and traffic was already slowing down and backing up.

By 3:00 pm, speeds fall to 30 mph. Drivers won’t reach the speed limit in this area until around 9:00 pm. That’s according to the American Transportation Institute’s data.

Legacy Infrastructure Contractors plans to remove all left-hand entrance and exit ramps, modify bridges and add lanes around these familiar exits: Fulton Industrial, Hollowell Parkway and Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive.

Once it’s done, the state says it will make you safer and move freight that we all count on faster.