Roadwork, football to impact Atlanta's weekend traffic

By Mike Morris

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The weekend forecast calls lots of sunshine, along with a bunch of road construction on I-285 and a full slate of championship high school football.

Afternoon highs will be in the mid-50s, with overnight lows in the mid-30s, according to Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Karen Minton.

The dry weather should help several road construction projects, which could cause delays along several stretches of I-285.

In Clayton County, the two right lanes of I-285 westbound between Riverdale Road and I-85 will be blocked from 9 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Sunday. In that same area, one lane of the ramp from I-85 southbound to I-285 westbound will also be blocked.

North of that area, the two right lanes of I-285 southbound near Washington Road will be blocked by construction from 9 p.m. Friday through 5 a.m. Saturday, and the left lane of I-285 southbound will be shut down north of Camp Creek Parkway.

In DeKalb County, one lane of I-285 southbound at I-20 will be blocked from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

Doug Turnbull in the AM750 and 95.5FM News/Talk WSB Traffic Center warns delays can be expected Sunday morning on the top-end Perimeter, where authorities will be pacing, or occasionally blocking, all lanes of I-285 in both directions between Ga. 400 and Riverside Drive. The pacing will take place between 7 and 10 a.m. Sunday.

In downtown Atlanta, the roads around the Georgia Dome will be congested on Friday and Saturday afternoons and evenings as the Dome hosts the state high school football championships.

Calhoun takes on Buford in the Class AA title game at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, followed by the AAAA matchup between Lovejoy and Tucker at 8 p.m.

On Saturday, the Class A championship game between Savannah Christian and Landmark Christian kicks off at 1 p.m. Burke County and Peach County play for the AAA title at 4:30 p.m., and Grayson and Walton will battle it out for the AAAAA crown at 8 p.m.