ATLANTA — Drivers are running into more congestion during the afternoon commute in downtown Atlanta.
The Courtland Street Bridge, which spans between Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Gilmer Street, closed Monday for reconstruction so crews can begin to tear it down.
Channel 2's Rikki Klaus was there when surveyors took measurements and construction workers moved dirt ahead of the demolition. In the next six months, crews will replace the 111-year-old land structure in phases.
Jasmine Kuykendall, a pedestrian, said closing the street that sits between the state capitol and Georgia State University and leads to the Connector will cause traffic troubles.
“It’s going to be backed up for hours,” Kuykendall said.
Adri McCown, who works at the Georgia Department of Audits nearby, said she knew the project was coming.
"The Department of Transportation has been sending out emails and letting us know that for probably about two months now that bridge would be closing," McCown said.
McCown predicted there will be a learning curve for capitol visitors who aren't familiar with the area. GDOT expects the new bridge to be up in six months.
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Ariel Ingram, a driver, said she was surprised by the timeline.
"Six months? Ya'll going to have to find another route, I guess. You're going to have to GPS it," Ingram said.
Kuykendall wanted the department to speed up the process.
"They need to do overtime," Kuykendall said. "Get more construction workers out and get it done, like, two or three months."
But Natale Dale, of GDOT, said the timeline will still take six months.
"Given the financial constraints and the budget of this project, we are still advancing it from what would have been a two-year stretch," Dale said.
GDOT mapped out two detour options for cars:
Edgewood to Pryor to Mitchell, and Gilmer to Jesse Hill Jr. to MLK.
Pedestrians will travel on Central and Piedmont, which parallel the bridge.