ATLANTA — Drivers are finding out how long detours connected to a full interstate shutdown are going to take them Friday night.
Channel 2’s Courtney Francisco drove along the detour route during WSB Tonight on Friday after crews shut down the interstate.
“I am a truck driver. I’m used to a lot of traffic, stuff like that, but that’s too close to home,” said William Young.
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He lives near the west side of the perimeter where Georgia Department of Transportation has shutdown both sides of Interstate 285 from Cascade Road to Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
There, drivers have studied the detour map.
“I do have some street options,” said Chermaine Axam-Wilkins.
GDOT expects to open all lanes by 5 a.m. Monday morning.
“I like it, in and out. Be done, son’t drag it out,” said Axam-Wilkins.
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GDOT said this is the first of multiple shutdowns it will require to rebuild 17 miles of I-285. When it’s done, contractors said drivers will notice water draining from the road better, new barrier walls, guardrails and overhead signs.
Workers said they need to shut down the entire interstate during portions of the project to replace the 60-year-old concrete with asphalt.
To do that fast and safely with the equipment required to do it, contractors said it’s necessary to shut down all lanes.
GDOT expects that tactic to cut the project time from six years to three years.
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