ATLANTA — Drivers in Cobb County and the west side of Atlanta are going to be facing another big interstate shutdown this weekend.
I-285 will close in both directions from Paces Ferry Road to South Atlanta Road.
Signs are up already warning drivers of the closure starting Friday night at 7 p.m.
“It’s going to be crazy. I’m going to have to find some alternative routes, of course,” said Melik Williams, who lives in the area.
GDOT is telling drivers to stay away from the area and follow detours.
They are also warning drivers to expect delays as the weekend closure pushes traffic to other metro interstates like the Downtown Connector and I-20.
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DeAnte Clemmons, a barber at Dream Cuts that just moved their shop to the area in the last two weeks, also expects good and bad with more traffic on local roads around Vinings.
“It will be both. It will create a different traffic jam as people come through. So, people see our business, but our clients will make it,” Clemmons said.
The shutdown of 285 is needed as crews work to rebuild and repave the road surface along the entire 14 miles of the westside freeway, making a safer and smoother ride.
“It’s pretty bad on the daily, but with the shutdown it will be even worse. So, traffic is probably going to double,” Williams said.
“People from here know how to get around it. Now, if you’re further down and you don’t know, then it’s going to impact it a little bit. But the fact that it’s just one exit, even those people won’t be too bad, I don’t think,” driver Daniel Burse said.
All lanes of I-285 will reopen by 5 a.m. on Monday, in time for morning rush hour.