When Transportation Projects Change Access to Care: How Georgia’s $1.8B Plan Could Affect Caregivers

When a $1.8B I-75 overhaul changes the way caregivers get to care — what to do now

For caregivers already juggling appointments, home health visits and unexpected trips to the ER, construction on Georgia’s I‑75 can feel like a direct threat to the routines that keep a loved one safe. With Governor Brian Kemp proposing $1.8 billion to add toll express lanes and rebuild chokepoints on I‑75 in Henry and Clayton counties in early 2026, travel times, toll costs and even ambulance response windows could shift — sometimes overnight. This article explains what to expect, why it matters now, and practical steps caregivers can take to protect care access.

Quick takeaways (most important first)

• Short-term: Expect construction delays, lane shifts, and temporary detours that increase appointment late arrivals and home‑care travel times.
• Medium-term: New toll express lanes may improve peak throughput but could add out‑of‑pocket toll costs for frequent caregivers and providers.
• Actionable: Audit travel routes, build time buffers, ask healthcare providers for scheduling flexibility, enroll in pharmacy and meal delivery, and monitor DOT construction calendars and 511GA alerts.

Why a highway project matters for caregiving in 2026

Infrastructure projects are usually framed as economic or commuter issues, but they are also health‑care issues. In 2026, transportation planning and health-care delivery are increasingly connected: the rise of telehealth, mobile care units and home-based services has helped, but many essential appointments — dialysis, oncology, surgery follow‑ups, lab work and some home health visits — still depend on reliable travel time. When a major corridor like I‑75 gets rebuilt or expanded, the ripple effects touch appointment access, caregiver time budgeting and the viability of local home health agencies.

What officials are proposing — and the construction reality

Governor Kemp’s plan announced in early 2026 calls for adding a toll lane in each direction on a 12‑mile stretch of I‑75 through Henry and Clayton counties, where reversible express lanes already exist. The state argues more lanes will increase capacity and reduce congestion in the long run. But the construction phase will include phases of lane closures, interchange rebuilds and temporary traffic patterns. Historically, projects that add lanes or reconfigure interchanges can create a period of worsened congestion before travel-time gains appear — and not every driver will take express lanes when tolls apply.

How this affects specific caregiving activities

1. Medical appointments and the medical commute

Caregivers who drive loved ones to recurring treatments (chemotherapy, dialysis, physical therapy) may see longer commutes or more unpredictable arrival times during construction. Even a 15–20 minute average increase can compound when several appointments or errands are stacked into a day.

2. Home health and hospice visits

Home health agencies schedule staff with efficiency models that rely on predictable drive times. Construction-related delays can reduce the number of patients a nurse or aide can serve in a shift, leading to later visits or canceled slots. For hospice and palliative care, timing and continuity are critical — missed visits are high‑risk.

3. Emergency transfers and ambulance response

Emergency medical services use route priority and preemption, but chokepoints and diverted traffic can still slow response times, particularly for transfers between hospitals and long‑term care facilities during heavy congestion or construction detours.

4. Family caregiving routines and caregiver time

Caregivers already operate on limited time budgets. Longer commutes mean less time for meal prep, medication management and rest — increasing burnout risk. Toll lanes also introduce financial choices: pay for speed and reliability, or save money and risk longer trips.

Concrete preparation: a caregiver’s checklist for transportation disruptions

Below are practical steps caregivers can implement immediately and over the life of the project.

Immediate (within 1–2 weeks)

• Audit your routes: Use Google Maps, Waze and 511GA to map usual routes at appointment times. Note alternative routes and add 15–30 minute buffers to scheduled travel times during peak construction windows.
• Talk to providers now: Ask clinics, dialysis centers, and home health agencies how they handle construction-related delays. Request flexible appointment windows or the ability to shift to telehealth when appropriate.
• Sign up for construction alerts: Bookmark the Georgia Department of Transportation project page for I‑75, and set 511GA alerts for live traffic updates on I‑75 through Henry and Clayton counties.
• Enroll in pharmacy delivery and mail-order meds: For routine prescriptions, switch to home delivery to remove an extra trip. Many pharmacies offer no-cost delivery for maintenance meds.
• Consider a Peach Pass: If you will frequently use express lanes, calculate monthly toll costs and whether a Peach Pass or similar transponder is cost‑effective for reliability during peak hours.

Short term (weeks to months)

• Create a backup-care plan: Identify a friend, neighbor or paid backup caregiver who can cover a visit if travel is delayed. Keep emergency contact cards and a written care plan in the car.
• Coordinate with home health supervisors: Ask agencies to cluster visits geographically or to provide time-window windows (e.g., “arriving between 9–11 a.m.”) rather than a strict time to improve scheduling resilience.
• Use ride services when helpful: For single appointments, rideshare or non-emergency medical transport (NEMT) can avoid parking stress and navigation through detours — check for Medicaid or insurer coverage of NEMT when eligible.
• Request more predictable windows for medication administration: Where clinically appropriate, ask prescribers if dosing times can be adjusted slightly to fit new travel patterns.

Medium to long term (months to years)

• Plan for toll expenses: If express lanes become the reliable option, budget tolls or advocate for toll exemptions or discounts for medical trips and home health providers.
• Explore telehealth and mobile clinic options: Some providers are expanding mobile services and in‑home visits post‑2025; ask your primary care network if in‑home lab draws or nurse visits are available.
• Advocate locally: Attend public hearings, submit written comments to Georgia DOT, and ask that mitigation plans address health‑care access (e.g., ambulance lane protections, signage for detours to hospitals, funds for community health providers).

Advanced strategies and 2026 trends that can help

Infrastructure planning in 2026 reflects new technology and health‑system trends that caregivers can leverage.

1. Dynamic routing and real‑time ETA sharing

Traffic apps now integrate construction feeds and predictive congestion models. Use apps that allow shared ETAs with family members or clinics so providers can reassign or reschedule when staff are delayed.

2. Medicaid and insurer NEMT modernization

Following policy shifts in late 2024–2025, several states (and regional insurers) are piloting app‑based NEMT scheduling that optimizes for construction and chokepoint delays. Check with Georgia Medicaid and your insurer for pilot programs that could ease travel scheduling for eligible patients.

3. Growth of home‑first models and mobile care

Health systems are investing in home‑based primary care and mobile diagnostics. In areas impacted by major infrastructure projects, hospitals often accelerate mobile services to reduce outpatient no‑shows. Ask your provider about home‑visit eligibility; this can reduce the need for travel entirely.

4. Smart lanes, connected vehicles and tolling tech

New express lanes are increasingly managed by dynamic tolling and vehicle detection systems that prioritize throughput. Over time, reliability usually improves — but initial toll pricing and adoption rates will determine whether caregivers find the lanes useful or cost‑prohibitive.

Policy levers caregivers can push for now

Caregivers are also constituents. Local advocacy can shape mitigation measures so that transportation projects lessen harm to health access.

• Request impact assessments that include access to medical care, home health schedules and EMS response times.
• Ask for toll relief programs or medical exemptions (temporary Peach Pass waivers) during construction phases.
• Push for funding for mobile clinic deployment or community paramedicine pilot programs in affected counties.
• Demand clear, multilingual signage and detour maps that highlight routes to major hospitals and dialysis centers.

"Transportation decisions are health decisions. When lanes close, people miss appointments, and missed care costs lives and money." — Community health planner, Atlanta metro region (paraphrased)

Case study: Maria — a caregiver in Clayton County

Maria drives her father to weekly cardiology appointments and twice-weekly physical therapy in southern Atlanta. Before the I‑75 proposal, her average round trip was 90 minutes. During early 2026 construction phases she faced lane closures that added 30–45 minutes unpredictably. Maria used these steps to adapt:

1. She asked the cardiology clinic to move her dad’s appointment 30 minutes earlier; the clinic offered a “flex slot” when notified of road closures.
2. She set up recurring pharmacy delivery for blood‑pressure meds.
3. She bought a Peach Pass and tracked monthly toll spend against time saved; in her case the time saved made it worth the cost twice a week.
4. She connected with the local volunteer driver program through the Area Agency on Aging for one afternoon a week to cover physical therapy when construction peak hours made trips unreliable.

These pragmatic moves reduced missed appointments, preserved caregiver time and lowered stress.

Mapping risks: how to evaluate whether your care route will be affected

Do this quick risk map:

1. List all recurring appointments and home visits and note times and locations.
2. Overlay those routes on DOT construction phases and expected lane closure windows (available on project pages).
3. Estimate added time per route in low, medium and high scenarios (e.g., +10, +25, +45 minutes).
4. Flag high‑risk items: dialysis, chemo, home oxygen deliveries, hospice visits and any appointment with narrow scheduling windows.
5. Prioritize mitigation for high‑risk items: telehealth, in‑home services, back‑up caregivers, or flexible clinic windows.

Environmental and equity considerations caregivers should know

Large highway projects can worsen air quality near construction zones and exacerbate health disparities if toll lanes price out lower‑income residents. Caregivers should:

• Monitor air quality alerts during heavy construction days and, when possible, avoid outdoor activities for vulnerable loved ones during peak dust or idling traffic times.
• Advocate for equity measures such as income‑based toll discounts or community shuttles to hospitals and clinics in underserved neighborhoods.

What to watch for from Georgia DOT and local officials in 2026

• Project phasing schedule and public hearing dates.
• Toll pricing models and any announced exemptions for medical travel or service vehicles.
• Funding for mitigation programs (mobile clinics, community transportation, EMS improvements).
• Data on congestion before and after construction phases — Georgia DOT will publish regular updates and traffic modeling results.

Final checklist: tangible next steps for caregivers

• Audit routes and add buffer time to appointment windows.
• Ask providers for telehealth or flexible scheduling; get written contingency plans.
• Sign up for 511GA and GDOT construction alerts for I‑75 project updates.
• Consider pharmacy delivery, meal delivery and home health expansion to reduce trips.
• Budget for potential toll costs or seek local programs offering reduced fares for medical travel.
• Identify a backup caregiver and emergency plan; keep a “carcare” kit with meds, contact list and documents.
• Engage in public comment and request explicit protections for health access in mitigation planning.

Why this matters beyond convenience

Access to timely care affects outcomes. Missed appointments lead to worse chronic disease control, increased ER visits and higher caregiver stress. Transportation planning is health planning; slowing down to map risks and advocate for mitigations protects both the people you care for and the caregivers themselves.

Call to action

Start your care-route audit this week: map your regular medical trips, sign up for 511GA alerts, and call your provider to request scheduling flexibility. If you’re affected by the I‑75 project, attend the next GDOT public meeting and ask that health‑care access be explicitly protected. Sign up for updates from your local Area Agency on Aging and your health system about mobile care and in‑home services — the right planning now can keep appointments on time, reduce stress and protect the health of the people you care for.

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