DOT advises commuters to stay home Tuesday

By Christian Boone

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

State officials encouraged metro Atlanta commuters to stay at home Tuesday morning as they work to repair the damage done by Monday's unprecedented deluge of rain, those who live in the southern and western parts of Cobb County might not have much choice.

Even as the rains subsided, the Chattahoochee River remained well above flood stage, and three metro interstates remained closed: I-285 over the Chattahoochee (closed northbound at Hollowell Parkway and southbound at South Cobb Drive); I-20 over Sweetwater Creek (eastbound beginning at Lee Road and westbound at Thornton Road); and I-575 at Ga. 92 in Cherokee County.

Georgia Department of Transportation spokeswoman Crystal Paulk-Buchanan said that at 5 a.m., five feet of water covered the I-285 bridge over the Chattahoochee, while the I-20 bridge over Sweetwater Creek was under 3 feet of water.

Once the waters recede, the bridges won't be re-opened until they are inspected for any structural damage, said Georgia Department of Transportation spokeswoman Crystal Paulk-Buchanan

"We can't risk it," she said.

Those inspectors will be busy. By midnight flooding had forced the closure of 11 bridges in the metro area alone. The DOT has called in reinforcements from across the state to expedite the process, Paulk-Buchanan said. She said there were 11 inspection teams and two dive teams available to check bridges.

"It's almost impossible to make a guess right now," she said when asked when the interstates would be accessible again.

Paulk-Buchanan said that the DOT was recommending that "only emergency or absolutely necessar travel occur until after 8 a.m."

In Cherokee County, the water that closed I-575 at Ga. 92 Monday afternoon receded overnight, and Paulk-Buchanan said inspectors would be checking the bridge after daybreak to determine whether the interstate could be reopened.

There's also hundreds of surface streets closed by flooding across the metro area. You can access that list, updated hourly, here.

Coincidentally, Tuesday is International Car Free Day, designed to encourage commuters to ditch their automobiles in favor of public transportation.

Staff writer Mike Morris contributed to this article.