Dry rush hour; 9 flooding records set

By Marcus K. Garner and Mike Morris

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The skies have cleared for metro Atlanta, but roads closed by flooding, particularly I-20,  still pose a major hurdle to commuters.

The west side commute was still snarled on I-20, which remained closed by the flooding Sweetwater Creek  between Fulton Industrial Boulevard and Fairburn Road.

That was the only interstate still closed, as I-285 at the Chattahoochee River had reopened by late Tuesday.

However, numerous bridges on state routes remained shut down Wednesday, including the Chattahoochee River bridges on Ga. 92 and Ga. 166 in Douglas County and the Ga. 6 bridge in Fulton County.

Among the flooding records, a nearly 90-year-old mark was broken Monday when the Chattahoochee River reached 29.61 feet near Whitesburg, west of Palmetto. The old record was 29.11 feet, set on Dec. 11, 1919.

Downstream, the Chattahoochee on Tuesday beat another nine-decade record near Franklin, reaching 29.97 feet. The new record bested a Dec. 15, 1919 mark.

The largest jumps came at Utoy Creek, near Atlanta, where the water level surged to 27.54 feet, nearly 11 feet over the May 2003 record of 16.86 feet, and Sweetwater Creek at Austell, where Tuesday's crest of 30.17 feet topped the previous record of 21.81 feet set in 2005.

Among the other records broken Monday and Tuesday by flood levels that closed roads and damaged homes, are on the Yellow River at 25.5 feet in Lithonia, and at 21.96 feet in Conyers where water continues to rise.

In Mableton, Nickajack Creek beat a 2004 record of 16. 6 by cresting at 19.3 on Tuesday. And Suwanee Creek in Suwanee rose to 14.3 feet on Monday, more than a foot-and-a-half above the record set there in 1996.

Noonday Creek set a new mark of 19.66 feet Monday near Woodstock, beating a 2005 record. And in Atlanta, North Fork Peachtree Creek rose to 18.07 feet, above the 17.7 feet reached in 2004.

For more forecasts, check the National Weather Service Web site for the Peachtree City headquarters.

The DOT's list of road closures as of 6 a.m.

DOUGLAS/COBB/FULTON: I-20 EB FAIRBURN RD TO FULTON INDUSTRIAL BLVD

DOUGLAS/COBB/FULTON: I-20 WB FULTON INDUSTRIAL BLVD TO FAIRBURN RD

FULTON CO: I-285 SB RAMP TO I-20 WB

FULTON CO: I-285 NB RAMP TO I-20 WB

FULTON CO: I-20 WB RAMP TO I-285 NB

FULTON CO: I-20 EB RAMP TO I-285

FULTON CO: SR 70 (FIB)  NB / SB AT CASCADE RD

FULTON CO: SR 70 (FIB) NB / SB AT CAMP CREEK PKWY

FULTON CO: SR 70 (FIB) NB / SB AT MABLETON PKWY

DOUGLAS CO: SR 166 EB / WB W OF SR 92

PAULDING CO: SR 6 BUS NB AT MP 2.5

COBB CO: SR 360 EB / WB AT VILLA RICA RD

FULTON CO: SR 372 NB / SB N OF HICKORY FLATS RD

GWINNETT CO: SR 8 (LAWRENCEVILLE HWY) E OF PLEASANT HILL RD

COBB CO: US 278 EB / WB AT MAXHAM RD

DOUGLAS CO: THORNTON RD NB / SB AT US 78

FULTON CO: SR 372 NB / SB AT BIRMINGHAM HWY

DOUGLAS CO: SR 5 NB / SB AT ANNEEWAKEE CREEK

FULTON CO: US 41 NB / SB AT NANCY CREEK

DOUGLAS CO: SR 92 EB / WB AT RIVERSIDE PKWY