ATLANTA — Drivers who live on the west side of Interstate 285 are preparing for a historic highway shutdown this weekend.
“That’s all weekend, and it’s Mother’s Day,” said Shardae Pearson.
The Georgia Department of Transportation is shutting down I-285 on both sides from the Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. exit to the Cascade Rd. exit.
That’s a two-mile stretch of interstate traffic that will have to detour through other main arteries through Atlanta.
“Plan ahead,” warned GDOT Spokesperson Natalie Dale. “We know that when you shut down two miles of a major interstate, congestion has to go somewhere.”
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Dale told Channel 2’s Courtney Francisco that drivers could notice traffic congestion in areas they don’t even associate with this project, and her team has gone so far as to warn other states about it.
“It could very well have regional impact,” said Dale.
The full shutdown is part of the state’s plan to rebuild nearly 17 miles of I-285 in three years.
“There’s going to be new barrier walls, upgraded guardrails, overhead signs, better drainage,” said Dale.
She said road workers are now ready to fix the 60-year-old concrete in the section of highway that runs from exit 7 to exit 9.
“To be able to do a full depth grind down of these concrete slabs, and then do an asphalt overlay, which will have easier maintenance in the long run, we have to shut down full sections to do that safely because of the size of the equipment that has to be in to do it.” said Dale.
“If you look at the silver lining, less potholes,” said Pearson. “I popped my tire on potholes twice.”
Pearson and other local drivers said the detour map looks long and costly due to high gas prices.
“Here we are on this side of 285 trying to figure out how to get home,” said Janie Ivory.
She and her neighbors are getting groceries and running important errands now in case they end up stuck at home this weekend.
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