GDOT Launches 24/7 Incident Response Units on GA 400 in April

Javier Gutierrez, CEO of SR 400 Peach Partners, has a direct pledge for Forsyth County commuters bracing for GA 400's most disruptive construction project in decades: the new SR 400 Incident Response Unit will keep traffic moving "along this critical corridor" every time an incident forces lanes to close.

GDOT and SR 400 Peach Partners will launch the 24/7 unit in April, timed to the start of heavy construction on the $4.6 billion SR 400 Express Lanes project. The unit will patrol the full 16-mile project corridor from the North Springs MARTA Station in Fulton County north to about one mile past McFarland Parkway in Forsyth County.

For drivers who use the stretch daily, initial disruption will concentrate around the McGinnis Ferry Road (future Exit 11B) to McFarland Parkway (Exit 12) segment in Forsyth County, where GDOT says heavy construction will begin first. A dedicated SR 400 Traffic Management Center will monitor that stretch and the broader corridor around the clock, designed to detect incidents faster and dispatch the IRU before backups multiply.

Operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the unit will assist stranded motorists, remove roadway debris and help manage traffic when crashes or breakdowns occur. The IRU adds corridor-specific coverage within the project limits while working alongside GDOT's existing Highway Emergency Response Operators (HERO) program rather than replacing it.

Alan Davis, GDOT's permit and operations division director, said the unit "adds specialized resources to support existing HERO operators." Davis tied the initiative to commuter reliability: "The SR 400 Incident Response Unit reflects our shared commitment to proactive operations, faster incident response and reliable travel on one of Georgia's busiest corridors."

GDOT expects the unit to reduce response times and improve safety for drivers and first responders alike, but the agency has not released specific benchmark targets for response-time reductions, clearance times or secondary-crash decreases tied to the program. What success looks like numerically, and what accountability measures exist if conditions along the corridor worsen during construction, remain open questions.

The IRU is part of SR 400 Peach Partners' contractual obligation under a roughly 55-year agreement to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the express lanes. Once complete, the project will add optional tolled lanes using variable pricing, accessible via Peach Pass or other approved transponders. Commuters can track construction progress and sign up for traffic impact alerts at 400expresslanes.com.