Westbound I-285 lane closure will come Oct. 22

The Georgia Department of Transportation will close a westbound lane of I-285 between Ashford Dunwoody Road and Roswell Road on Oct. 22. The agency has already closed an eastbound lane in the same area. The closures will accommodate construction of three new bridges and are expected to last at least eight months. (John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com)

Credit: JOHN SPINK / AJC

Credit: JOHN SPINK / AJC

The Georgia Department of Transportation will close a westbound lane of I-285 between Ashford Dunwoody Road and Roswell Road on Oct. 22. The agency has already closed an eastbound lane in the same area. The closures will accommodate construction of three new bridges and are expected to last at least eight months. (John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com)

The Georgia Department of Transportation will wait a week before closing another lane on I-285 near the Ga. 400 interchange.

Last weekend GDOT closed one eastbound lane on I-285 between Roswell Road and Ashford Dunwoody Road. It had planned to close a westbound lane in the same area as soon as this weekend.

But spokesperson Natalie Dale said some work on adjacent collector-distributor lanes must still be completed before the westbound lane can be closed.

GDOT is closing lanes to accommodate the construction of I-285 bridges over Glenridge Drive, Ga. 400 and Peachtree Dunwoody Road. The closures are expected to last at least eight months.

The bridge construction is part of the larger reconstruction of the I-285 interchange at Ga. 400, which began five years ago. The larger interchange project has experienced a series of delays and now is not expected to be completed until the second half of 2023.

GDOT has pledged to keep at least three lanes open in each direction on I-285 during the daytime during the bridge construction. But limiting a highway traveled by about 250,000 people a day to just three lanes is expected to cause massive traffic headaches at times.

GDOT recommends commuters work from home or take MARTA, if possible. If they must drive to work in the area, they recommend using traffic navigation apps to find the best route on any given day. And if they must drive through the interchange, they say motorists should give themselves plenty of extra time.