That giant sigh of relief you hear as you leave the house this morning will be emanating from teachers and traffic reporters all over the metro area.
Summer is here and no one is happier than the nation’s teachers and the nation’s traffic reporters.
Historically, when school ends traffic gets noticeably lighter on Atlanta interstates. Summer vacation for kids usually means a summer break for commuters.
As bad as traffic has been this year, we can all use the break.
You’ve heard the phrase “end of the fiscal year?” Well the end of the school year is pretty much the end of the traffic year. A time to recap what what we’ve seen the prior 12 months, a chance to catch out collective breaths and an opportunity to look ahead to the coming year.
In the past four months I’ve noticed traffic has gotten worse when compared year to year. Trip times are up and delays have lengthened. Most notably (during morning drive), on the west side of Interstate 285 traveling northbound on the inner loop traffic has increased. Never a great commute, the ride has become downright miserable. It’s become an almost daily occurrence to see delays start on I-285 northbound back at Highway 166 (Exit 5).
A year ago, the delays would rarely begin south of Interstate 20 (Exit 10). That is five extra miles of slow traffic. And, traffic doesn’t get better on I-285 north of I-20. Delays remain in spots up to Interstate 75 in Cobb County, and during many mornings, eastbound all the way to GA 400.
In the almost 17 years that I have been reporting traffic in Atlanta for WSB radio and television, the east side of I-285 in Dekalb County has always been a worse morning commute than the west side of I-285 in Fulton and Cobb counties. I think that has changed this year. While still a very bad drive, the outer loop on the east side is now slightly better than the inner loop on the west side.
The northbound ride through downtown has also gotten worse in the past year. The Downtown Connector northbound (I-75/85) often now slows from before Langford Parkway all the way to the Brookwood split. In the past, traffic would usually get better north of the Grady Curve. That isn’t always the case anymore.
One other area where traffic has worsened is Interstate 85 northbound between Brookwood and GA 400, and GA 400 northbound from I-85 to Lenox Road.
There has also been a slight, but noticeable increase in trip times on I-75 and I-85 from the northern suburbs.
Year to year the only interstate that got better? I-75 northbound in Henry County.
While we enjoy the summer respite, I shudder to think how bad traffic will be when gets back in session this August. If we see even a minor increase in traffic volume this fall, delays in certain areas may become unbearable.
Enjoy the respite while you have it.
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