For the many reasons to be upset about the Atlanta presidential debate, the traffic implications may rank low. The outcome of the philosophical showdown between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump brought enough angst on its own. But people should not forget the White House’s handling of bringing the president and first lady Jill Biden to Atlanta at different times.
Atlantans knew for weeks that Biden and Trump would debate on CNN at the Warner-Discovery Midtown campus on Techwood Drive. June 28 quickly approached and with it would come the inevitable heightened security and eventual rolling road blocks. Police shut down 10th Street and the I-75/85 ramps to it all day that Thursday.
The sitting U.S. president, vice president, and first lady always bring full road closures for their motorcades. Their arrivals also bring varying flight restrictions (which limit or eliminate the usage of our WSB Skycopter). These visits also prompt the state, at the command of the Secret Service, to disable the 511 GDOT streaming cameras that both the public and traffic reporters alike can use to track traffic.
As a result, traffic reporters like me, who need vital aerial and visual tools, don’t have them. We dread days like this.
But the last Thursday of June hit differently.
The media is never made privy to the exact route that a motorcade will take, but we can generally ascertain it, given the airport and the destination. Early in the week, we knew President Biden would arrive at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta in the midafternoon. We later learned former President Trump would land at a private hangar at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport after 5 p.m. We were also fairly certain that Trump’s motorcade would not bring entire, prolonged interstate closures, since he is not currently in office. And both candidates would be Midtown-bound, with the debate set for 9:30 p.m.
The arrival of both heavy hitters and the necessary security that would surround the Techwood studio would guarantee major interruptions to traffic into the heart of Atlanta, particularly between Cobb County and Downtown, at the start of the afternoon drive. Many commuters took note and planned early departures or work-from-home days. They were smart.
The real fumble by the Biden administration came with a Wednesday announcement that the first lady would join her husband in Atlanta – but she would arrive separately and about an hour later.
Sure enough, President Biden and Air Force One arrived just after 3 p.m. that Thursday. Georgia State Patrol completely shut down I-75 southbound from the South 120 Loop (Exit 263), allowing the long Biden motorcade to enter via Delk Road. GSP soon blocked off I-285 in both directions at I-75 (Exit 20) in Cobb, flushing the route of as much traffic as possible. As the motorcade passed inside I-285, our alternative WSB Jam Cam stream showed I-85 southbound shut down north of 17th Street (Exit 84).
Annoying as this is, the Secret Service got Biden and his staff to Midtown efficiently. All closures finished by roughly 3:40 p.m. No aforementioned route was closed for that entire time. But the delays after the initial roadblocks lingered for a while.
In the 5 p.m. hour, the Trump arrival south of town caused limited closures. The Secret Service escorted him in the HOV lane of I-75/85 northbound and into Midtown. GSP and GDOT HERO units closed the I-20 ramps to I-75/85 and some other adjoining roads to the Downtown Connector.
In the hour between, however, Jill Biden flew in from a campaign event in another state. After 4 p.m., GSP repeated their action plan on I-75 and I-285 in Cobb. But the state and the Secret Service shut down these freeways for significantly longer than they did for President Biden.
People on I-75 southbound complained to the 95.5 WSB 24-Hour Traffic Center about being stuck on there for over an hour. The wall of stopped traffic stretched back to I-575 – over five miles. I-285 in the Cumberland area, I-85 southbound and GA-400 southbound from Buckhead, and adjacent side roads cooked in the second wave of motorcade closures for far longer than they did an hour earlier, baking in the Georgia summer heat.
When rush hour was at its worst, the White House and the Secret Service took their time.
Political leaders rightfully champion for the environment. There is no doubt that driving and flying both cause enormous air pollution. The Bidens and the Democratic Party consider this a major issue. However, they not only decided to ferry two faces of their cause in separate jumbo jets to the same spot, just one hour apart, they also prompted double the amount of traffic-paralyzing closures that left vehicles idling for far longer than necessary.
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
The Bidens should have come together to Atlanta.
Traffic backups are nowhere near most voters’ issue bingo cards, but almost everyone gets mad when they get stuck. These same drivers get told, on behalf of Mother Earth, to carpool, conserve, and work remotely by the very people who flew in separate airplanes and shut down those drivers’ routes twice in two hours. That’s no way to win votes.
Doug Turnbull, the PM drive Skycopter anchor for Triple Team Traffic on 95.5 WSB, is the Gridlock Guy. He also hosts a traffic podcast with Smilin’ Mark McKay on wsbradio.com. Contact him at Doug.Turnbull@cmg.com.
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