Cool temps to postpone Connector paving

By Mike Morris

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Weekend repaving on the Downtown Connector has been postponed again because of the weather, but this time rain's not the culprit.

Predictions of afternoon highs in the mid-50s and overnight lows in the 40s are the reason for the latest delay in the ongoing resurfacing of I-75/85 that began during the summer.

"We cannot lay the top coat of asphalt when temperatures are below 60 degrees," said Mickey McGee, the DOT's metro Atlanta construction engineer.

Rain forced crews to call off work on three of the past four weekends.

The postponement will be good news for Georgia Tech football fans headed downtown for Saturday's 6 p.m. game against Virginia Tech, and for Falcons fans making their way to the Georgia Dome for Sunday's 8:20 p.m. kickoff against the Chicago Bears.

Temperatures will be falling during Friday night's high school football games toward overnight lows in the mid-40s across metro Atlanta.

In the northeast corner of the state, the mercury will dip into the low to mid-30s the next two nights -- cold enough for the National Weather Service to predict a slight chance of snow flurries in the Blairsville and Clayton areas.

The forecast for metro Atlanta calls for mostly cloudy skies through Saturday, with lows in the 40s and highs in the mid-50s.

Sunday will be sunny, with afternoon highs in the upper 50s followed by overnight lows Sunday night in the mid-30s.

Sunny conditions will prevail through the first half of next week, with highs gradually climbing to the low 70s by Wednesday and lows in the upper 30s to mid-40s.