2 lanes of I-85 near Clairmont Rd. closed indefinitely

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — The Georgia Department of Transportation has closed two inside lanes of southbound Interstate 85 near Clairmont Road indefinitely to make emergency repairs to the road.

The HOV and adjacent lane on the left will be closed until at least Tuesday as crews work to repair a failed drainage structure and fill the subsequent void created beneath the pavement, GDOT said. It is not currently known how long the repairs will take, but they possibly will extend well into Tuesday.

Channel 2's Jeff Dore observed the repairs Monday afternoon.

"In the three hours we've been out here, we've seen some real progress," Dore said.

He saw GDOT workers using heavy equipment to fish out big, broken chunks of concrete that had been part of the underground drainage channel. The heavy rain Sunday night was the final washout to finish off the HOV lane on I-85.

But commuters, including a GDOT employee, said she had been noticing a deepening dip there for more than a week.

"If you can come earlier, come later, if you can take a van pool, if you can do something besides putting an extra car through here, especially tomorrow morning, we would really appreciate that, and we appreciate the patience as well," said GDOT spokeswoman Natalie Dale.

Workers and heavy equipment will be in close proximity to the I-85 southbound lanes, so drivers are being urged to drive slowly, exercising extreme caution in this work zone.

WSBTV