Truckers and other drivers traveling around Atlanta could soon be subject to added fees.

At a Nov. 10 meeting, the Georgia Department of Transportation asked its board to sign a letter of intent to negotiate the details of a proposal for private companies to build express toll lanes along Interstates 75 and 575.

GDOT also opened a period of public comment leading up to a Dec. 15 board vote on the letter.

The proposal calls for the state to enter an agreement with private companies to make the project less expensive. State officials say the project would cost $1.8 billion, as opposed to $2.9 billion if it were done the traditional way.

Officials say the project would be less expensive because GDOT would not be forced to put every piece of it out to bid one by one, allowing companies to work on everything at once.

The transportation department thinks work could be wrapped up in 2013, shaving nine years off the completion time.

Until Dec. 10, the public can submit written comments on whether the department should move forward on the plan and sign a letter of intent to negotiate the public-private project, which would be Georgia ’s first.

The latest version of the mammoth remake of I-75 and I-575 in Cobb and Cherokee counties includes new truck-only toll lanes, bus rapid transit, and high-occupancy toll, or HOT, lanes, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Existing lanes cannot be turned into pay-to-play lanes.

Truck-only lanes would run from Akers Mill Road to Hickory Grove Road on I-75 northwest of Atlanta . The project would add two lanes on each side where trucks would travel. The lanes are projected to cost $500 million.

Comments on the latest version can be made online or by mail. To submit comments online, visit the Georgia DOT Web site at www.dot.state.ga.us/ppi/index.shtml. Scroll down to the box on the lower right-hand side with the heading “Enter Feedback.” The site also contains information about the project.

Comments also can be mailed to: Georgia Department of Transportation, Attn: Chief Engineer, #2 Capitol Square SW, Room 122, Atlanta, GA 30334-1004.

The group of private contractors, dubbed Georgia Transportation Partners, proposed the billion-dollar project a year ago. If the transportation department chooses to move forward, the consortium could get started on preliminary work such as designs and environmental studies.

If the state gets cold feet, it could still back out as long as it’s before a final contract is signed, the newspaper reported. However, the state would be responsible for payment on whatever work has been done.