New pavement markings and restriping are being added to selected lanes of the Downtown Connector to cut down on the weaving that slows traffic and causes wrecks.

The Georgia Department of Transportation will spend about $356,000 on the project, which will direct motorists traveling through downtown. These so-called "operational enhancements" will begin at the Brookwood Split and end at University Avenue.

Interstate shields painted on the pavement -- you've seen them near the north-end split and above the Grady Curve, will give drivers a heads-up about the I-75/I-85 splits and the I-20 interchange.  Wider stripes and reflective markers also will be placed between certain lanes to separate traffic proceeding through downtown from local traffic that's entering and exiting.

The wider stripe is intended to distinguish "through" lanes from exit lanes and deter last-minute lane changing, according to a GDOT press release.

But as usual, traffic will get worse before it gets better. You can expect slow-moving equipment and rolling lane closures while work is ongoing between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. on weeknights and on weekends.

Contractors began working on the project in late June and are expected to finish this fall.

The connector looks like a winning slot machine as traffic passes over the I-85 lane markings in Downtown Atlanta. Ben Gray / @photobgray EDNOTE: this is Ben Gray's personal work and not an AJC produced photo

Credit: Andria Brooks

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Credit: Andria Brooks

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Fulton DA Fani Willis (center) with Nathan J. Wade (right), the special prosecutor she hired to manage the Trump case and had a romantic relationship with, at a news conference announcing charges against President-elect Donald Trump and others in Atlanta, Aug. 14, 2023. Georgia’s Supreme Court on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, upheld an appeals court's decision to disqualify Willis from the election interference case against Trump and his allies. (Kenny Holston/New York Times)

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