Test drive the "Diverging Diamond" interchange

Wondering how to drive through the "Diverging Diamond" interchange being built at I-285 and Ashford Dunwoody Road?

You're in luck. You can give it a test run in a golf cart.

The Perimeter Community Improvement Districts on Saturday will host the test drive from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Perimeter Mall parking lot at Ashford Dunwoody Road and Perimeter Center West.

Golf carts will be on hand to be driven on a track that will simulate on a "windshield level." All that's needed is a current driver's license.

“We want to inform the many employees, residents and visitors to Perimeter who use the I-285 and Ashford Dunwoody interchange about this innovative new design, which shifts the flow of traffic to the opposite side of the road to reduce points of traffic conflict,” said Yvonne Williams, CEO and president of the PCIDs.

View a video that demonstrates the new alignment.

The new alignment at the I-285 interchange is expected to be completed June 4. The newly configured interchange is expected to improve traffic delays in the evening rush hours by up to 20 percent.

When construction is complete, the new road configuration will have drivers shift to the left-hand lane as they approach either side of the bridge. Drivers heading to I-285 westbound will turn directly onto a ramp without having to cross on-coming traffic. The lanes switch back as you cross the interchange.

The project was initiated by the PCIDs through funding from DeKalb County and the state road and tollway authority. The Georgia Department of Transportation is funding the $4.6 million construction cost.