For Forsyth County commuters waiting for the Ga. 400 on-ramp traffic lights to go into effect, it's going to be a while.
The lights, called ramp meters by the state Department of Transportation, were to be turned on last August.

Local governments including Roswell, Sandy Springs, Alpharetta and Cumming, held a meeting hours before the change, delaying the process to better inform residents.

Since then, the lights have remained as only scenery for those entering Ga. 400 between Northridge Road and Old Milton Parkway.

According to DOT spokesman Mark McKinnon, the meters will remain off until late spring 2009.

"There are 13 corridors that are being turned on all over metro Atlanta, and Ga. 400 is the last on the list," he said. "The reason is we do not have the fiber to connect them all together.

"Until we can connect them all together and we can control them from our transportation management center, we don't want to connect them."

The 11 meters along Ga. 400 between I-285 and Cumming, are among 175 slated for the metro area.

The purpose of the meters is to allow one car at a time to enter traffic on the highway, allowing for a more structured merging pattern and ultimately a reduction in commute times.