ATLANTA (AP) — The first phase of a project to demolish a toll plaza on a metro Atlanta freeway is beginning.

State transportation officials say the project involving toll booths, signs and highway markings on Georgia 400 begins Friday.

In 2012, Gov. Nathan Deal announced the end of the .50-cent tolls and said the toll booths — near the northern edge of Atlanta — would be removed. Authorities say the tolls are expected to end sometime next month.

Tearing down the toll plaza is a yearlong project that is estimated to cost $3.5 million.

Georgia 400 is a busy thoroughfare that connects several heavily-populated northern suburbs to the city.