DOT Unveils CHAMP Crews on I-85

A new program on Interstate 85 in northeast Georgia is designed to help both motorists and the Georgia Department of Transportation.

The Coordinated Highway and Maintenance Program, or CHAMP, launched this week in the northeast district for the Georgia DOT along I-85.

Georgia DOT Spokesperson Katie Strickland said that CHAMP is similar to the already existing HERO program in metro Atlanta.

“These guys are going to be out there patrolling for anything from just debris in a travel lane, to a motorist that is stalled, to assisting on incidents like crashes,” said Strickland.

Strickland went on to say that not only will the CHAMP crews provide assistance for drivers needing help with things like fuel or a flat tire, they will also help the DOT keep an eye on the Interstate.

“If they see drainage that is blocked, if they see an issue on our roadway that the district office needs to know about and deploy maintenance calls, that can be one of their main targets, to get back to the main district the information that they need to send a crew out and then we can back them up and help them do that,” said Strickland.

According to the DOT, District One maintenance crews currently devote 40 percent of their time to the I-85 corridor and with CHAMP presence, it should cut that time in half.

The CHAMP crews will cover I-85 from State Route 20 all the way to the South Carolina state line.

Strickland said that will provide a huge help to the DOT and drivers on the roads.

“This is going to be 64 miles of help for people that if you run out of gas, or your car stalls and you are in a travel lane, you will need to dial 511 to request for assistance and you will be routed from our Traffic Management Center in Atlanta to a local dispatch at District One in Gainesville and then you will have help on the way to you.”

The CHAMP crews will operate 16 hours a day, seven days a week from 6 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. and after hours service will be executed by CHAMP on-call operators.