Prepare to see a sea of green in Midtown this weekend.
Rain or shine — and rain is more likely — more than 20,000 people are set to attend the 134th annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade Saturday in Midtown.
The route will run parallel to Cypress and Juniper streets and perpendicular from 15th to 5th streets, according to the parade map. So beware of parade traffic.
Other travel concerns could also cause delays.
The Northwest Corridor Express Lanes project will cause travel changes along the following sections:
Traffic traveling on the eastbound collector-distributor lane of I-285 to I-75 northbound will be directed to take the I-75 southbound ramp to Cumberland Boulevard from 9 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Saturday, from 9 p.m. Saturday to 5 a.m. Sunday and from 9 p.m. Sunday to 5 a.m. Monday.
Traffic will then be directed to turn left on Cumberland, followed by another left to enter I-75 northbound via the ramp from Cumberland Boulevard. The I-75 southbound ramp to exit No. 259A will also be closed, and traffic will need to take exit No. 259 to access I-285 eastbound from I-75 southbound.
One lane of Delk Road will close from 9 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Saturday.
One northbound lane of I-75 will close between Windy Hill Road and Delk Road from 9 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Saturday.
One southbound lane of 1-75 will close on the exit ramp to eastbound I-285 from 10 p.m. Sunday to 5 a.m. Monday.
One northbound lane of I-75 will close between Canton Road and Barrett Parkway from 9 p.m. Sunday to 5 a.m. Monday.
Other traffic projects will include closures in these areas:
One northbound lane and shoulder on I-75 will close between Jodeco Road/Flippen Road and Hudson Bridge Road/Eagles Landing Parkway from 9 p.m. Thursday to 5 a.m. Friday.
One northbound lane and one southbound lane on I-75 will close between the I-675 interchange and Mt. Zion Boulevard. The northbound lane will be closed from 9 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday. The southbound lane will be closed from 9 p.m. Friday to 7 a.m.
The Pryor Street HOV entrance ramp to the southbound Downtown Connector will close from 6:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
The Memorial Drive HOV exit ramp to the northbound Connector will close from 6:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday.
Motorists on the northbound Connector will have slow down to 10 mph or less to allow contractors to complete their work. The traffic pace will affect motorists traveling between Langford Parkway and Piedmont Avenue between 6 a.m. and 2 p.m. Sunday and motorists traveling between Langford Parkway and 10th/14th Street from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.
Two northbound lanes on I-75 will close between Delk Road and South Marietta Parkway from 7 p.m. Sunday to 5 a.m. Monday.
Rolling closures on I-75 will take place on the northbound and southbound lanes between Ga. 138 and Cumberland Boulevard from 9 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Sunday to allow crews to install road pavement markers. Motorists should expect multiple lane closures at a time and slow down while driving through the work zone.
One eastbound lane and one westbound lane on I-285 will close between Ashford Dunwoody Road and Peachtree Industrial Boulevard from 9 p.m. Friday to 9 p.m. Saturday.
On the east side of the Perimeter, one northbound lane and one southbound lane will close between the I-20 and the I-85 interchanges from 9 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Saturday.
On the southwest side of the Perimeter, two northbound lanes will close between the I-85 and the I-20 interchanges from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Two southbound lanes on I-285 will close at Atlanta Road from 9 p.m. Friday to noon Saturday.
One eastbound lane on I-20 and the shoulder will close between Fulton Industrial Boulevard and the I-285 interchange from 9 p.m. Friday to 9 a.m. Saturday, from 9 p.m. Saturday to 9 a.m. Sunday and from 9 p.m. Sunday to 5 a.m. Monday.
Two eastbound lanes on I-20 will close between Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Joseph E. Lowery Boulevard from 9 p.m. Friday to 9 a.m. Saturday, from 9 p.m. Saturday to 9 a.m. Sunday and from 9 p.m. Sunday to 5 a.m. Monday.
Two eastbound lanes and two westbound lanes on I-20 will close between Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and H.E. Holmes from 9 p.m. Friday to 9 a.m. Saturday, from 9 p.m. Saturday to 9 a.m. Sunday and from 9 p.m. Sunday to 5 a.m. Monday.
One lane will close on Piedmont Road at its intersection with Habersham Road from 9 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday.
» For updated traffic information, listen to News 95.5 and AM 750 WSB and follow @ajcwsbtraffic on Twitter.
Weekend to see above average temps
A warming trend that started last week in Atlanta will continue this weekend. But also prepare for afternoon showers Saturdays in metro Atlanta.
After lows of 60 degrees Saturday and 61 degrees Sunday, highs will reach 78 degrees Saturday and 73 degrees Sunday in metro Atlanta.
The best chance for rain this weekend is Saturday afternoon through Saturday night and into Sunday, Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Karen Minton said.
“So if you have outdoor plans, plan to include the rain in that scenario,” she said.
The metro area might even get thunder storms early Sunday morning.
» Check the full forecast and track changes
St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Car show on weekend agenda
