Georgia's Department of Transportation is expected to start reviewing a report this month on building a new "Northern Arc" highway near Atlanta to deal with the city's growing traffic congestion.

The Northern Arc would be a four-lane highway 50 miles from downtown Atlanta. It could be part of a much-discussed outer perimeter road. The Northern Arc project is looking at a 50-mile stretch between U.S. 411 in Bartow County and Georgia 400 in Forsyth County.
The independent study to be released this month shows that building the highway will alleviate traffic on smaller state roads that are now used as primary east-west routes. It also is expected to reduce the number of truck accidents, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, by taking truck traffic off smaller roads. Currently, 20% of the volume on Georgia 20, for instance, is truck traffic.
Parallel east-west roads such as Georgia 92 and Georgia 369 will be over capacity by 2035. Traffic volumes for major roads in the corridor are expected to grow 264% between 1990 and 2035.
If the plan is approved, the State Department of Transportation hopes to have the Northern Arc completed by 2015.