KENNESAW - The Georgia Department of Transportation installed four ramp meters on Interstate 75 in Kennesaw, which were activated Thursday to direct traffic flow getting on the interstate at Wade Green Road and State Route 92. The meters have been installed on both the northbound and southbound on-ramps.

The southbound meters were turned on at 8 a.m. Thursday. Northbound meters were turned on at 4 p.m.

The meters will run on a fixed-time schedule for the first few days of operation, but will later be set to run on a "traffic-response" basis, meaning the signals will go on and off based on traffic conditions.

GDOT spokesman Paul Marshall said the Kennesaw meters were a part of the department's new wave of 156-meter installations throughout the metro Atlanta area, which started in June 2008.

Marshall said these particular ramps were flagged for meters based on freeway congestion in the areas. He also said each ramp is investigated thoroughly before installation, and things like ramp length, capacity and general traffic trends are taken into account.

Based on preliminary GDOT studies in the Atlanta area, Marshall said ramp meters have been shown to reduce travel times by 13 to 49 percent.

Each meter costs the state about $16,000 to design and $108,000 to construct. Marshall said the expansion of 156 meters throughout the metro area cost about $16.8 million.

For an update on the ramp meters, visit the Georgia Department of Transportation's Web site at http://www.dot.ga.gov/travelingingeorgia/rampmeters/Pages/default.aspx.