ATLANTA — Ahead of the July 4 weekend celebrations, the Georgia Department of Transportation wants to ensure smooth drives on state highways.
The department said all lane closures on interstates are going to be paused for the weekend. The lane closures will run form July 3 at 6 a.m. to July 6 at 6 a.m.
However, some crews may still work on roads near the suspended construction zones.
GDOT said there are also some long-term closures that could stay off-limits to traffic for safety reasons.
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Due to the expected heavy amount of travel across the state for July 4, GDOT sent out a five-day travel forecast for the metro Atlanta area, running form July 2 to July 6.
For July 2, July 5 and July 6, GDOT said it expects traffic to be typical.
But on July 3, transport officials said they’re expecting to see heavy traffic in the evening.
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On July 4 itself, GDOT said traffic is expected to be light in metro Atlanta.
There are several areas that GDOT said would be travel hotspots for peak travel in metro Atlanta as well as Central and Southeast Georgia.
For areas outside of the metro Atlanta area, GDOT gave a travel forecast saying:
- I-75 is predicted to have moderate congestion to heavy congestion southbound and northbound out of Atlanta into Stockbridge.
- I-85 and I-185 are predicted to have light congestion in West Georgia near Alabama.
- I-20 is predicted to have light congestion eastbound and westbound in West Georgia near Alabama.
- I-24 is predicted to have light congestion in Northwest Georgia near Chattanooga.
- I-75 is predicted to have light congestion northbound and southbound in North Georgia near Chattanooga.
- I-16 is predicted to have moderate congestion westbound and eastbound in East Georgia near Savannah.
- I-475, I-75, and I-16 are predicted to have moderate congestion in West Georgia near Macon.
- I-75 is predicted to have moderate congestion northbound and southbound in South Georgia near Valdosta.
- I-85 is predicted to have light congestion near Northeast Georgia near South Carolina.
- I-95 is predicted to have light congestion northbound and southbound in Southeast Georgia (near Florida)
For safety issues on the road, GDOT is reminding drivers and passengers that HERO or CHAMP teams are available to assist.
The free safety services are provided by GDOT to help with everything from changing flat tires to jump-starting batteries, getting gas to empty tanks and providing first aid.
the teams also help with accident response.
You can call 511 to get help from HERO or CHAMP teams, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, even on holidays.
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