Gridlock Guy: Why I-75 is such a mess on the south side

Have you gotten stuck on Interstate 75 in Henry County in the last few months? The South Metro Express Lanes Project that will eventually add toll lanes to 12 miles of I-75 and help relieve congestion is right now helping cause it. That is the price one pays for progress, but it is not the only problem on I-75 between Stockbridge and McDonough.

Lane closures are just one thing jamming traffic on the south side.

Recently, we have seen several big trucks crash or stall and completely jam I-75. A chicken truck spilled and caked its contents on the road Tuesday on I-75/northbound at Highway 20/81 and blocked all but the right lane for over five hours. This caused over a one-hour delay in both directions.

Over a month ago, a tractor trailer overturned at 5 a.m. going the opposite direction at the same exit and literally took 17 hours to clear out, for far too many affirmations of Murphy’s Law to list here. And almost every time a big rig conks out in that construction zone, traffic grinds to a halt.

But why is I-75 so crash-prone and sensitive?

This persistent road project has narrowed the lanes and changed the configurations at the Jonesboro Road/exit 221 and Highway 20/81/exit 218 interchanges. A narrow and tricky construction zone means a higher likelihood for wrecks. Mix in the fact that so many unfamiliar out-of-towners and commercial trucks funnel through that area and you have the recipe for plenty of mishaps and delays.

Another reason traffic gets so bad, so quick on the south side is the amount of lanes.

I-75 files down to three lanes in each direction south of Hudson Bridge Road. This has always made for horrible traffic on summer weekends or surrounding holidays. But now with the construction in place over 2015, the lanes have changed and narrowed and the shoulders are also very small. This leaves a very small margin for error for, say, a tractor trailer that gets cut off and has to take evasive action. Once a problem does occur, motorists have to squeeze by it, so they slow down even more.

I-75 in Cobb and Cherokee has equally, if not more, intense road work, but does not see nearly the same problems or delays - it also has more lanes.

Again, the most problematic part of I-75 on the south side is between exits 221 and 218 because all of these factors are the worst there.

As I write, a truck just ran off the road I-75/southbound at Highway 20/81. With traffic volume so high this time of year, the delays are already bad. But now with construction, crashes, and narrow and shifted lanes, conditions are much worse than before. If your travels take you on I-75 through Henry County any time of day, any day of the week, plan ahead of time.

Listen for reports on News 95.5FM and AM750 WSB or check the AJC.com traffic page. You might end up losing an hour or more of your time if you do not. This New Year we’re already looking forward to 2017 when GDOT says this project will end.