The Braves and Falcons are on the road this weekend, but that doesn't mean there isn't plenty to do downtown on the first weekend of fall, beginning with Saturday's Atlanta Football Classic.
The 3:30 p.m. game matching Florida A&M and Southern University will be preceded by a "Parade of Excellence" that begins at 10 a.m. at Peachtree Street and Ralph McGill Boulevard.
Other traffic-inducing sporting events include the Georgia Tech-North Carolina football game at noon Saturday at Bobby Dodd Stadium and the Atlanta Dream playoff game against the Indiana Fever at 3 p.m. Sunday at Philips Arena.
On the entertainment side, the big event this weekend is the return of Music Midtown, which takes place from 1 to 11 p.m. Saturday on the meadow at Piedmont Park.
The Atlanta Police Department issued a statement Friday saying that it will have a plan in place "to ensure traffic flows smoothly and will be assisting ParkAtlanta with parking enforcement."
The statement urged attendees to take MARTA because paid parking will be limited.
As usual, weekend road construction projects could contribute to traffic delays around town. Among the main projects:
Paving will close three right lanes on I-285 eastbound from Peachtree Industrial Boulevard to I-85 in DeKalb County from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday. Also, I-285 westbound from Peachtree Industrial Boulevard to Ashford Dunwoody Road will have three right lanes closed from 9 p.m. Friday to 5 p.m. Sunday .
These ramps will be blocked in the area:
I-285 to I-85 northbound, blocked from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday;
I-285 eastbound ramp to I-85 northbound from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday;
I-285 westbound to Ashford Dunwoody Road from 9 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Saturday, 9 p.m. Saturday to 5 a.m. Sunday and 9 p.m. Sunday to 5 a.m. Monday;
I-285 westbound to Chamblee Dunwoody/North Peachtree from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Also in DeKalb, the I-285 southbound ramp to I-20 eastbound will be blocked from 9 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday.
I-20 westbound from Evans Mill Road to Wesley Chapel Road will have the right lanes closed from 9 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday.
In Fulton County, I-285 southbound at Cascade Road will have the two right lanes closed from midnight to 7 p.m. Saturday.
While traffic could be frustrating, the weather will be delightful Saturday and Sunday, with low humidity, highs in the low 80s and lots of sunshine, Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Karen Minton said.
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