Northside commuters already were facing a rough ride next week.
But with the news that Tiger Woods will be in the field for golf's last big blast of the season, Medlock Bridge Road could see more traffic than ever before.
The 93rd PGA Championship at the Atlanta Athletic Club in Johns Creek is expected to draw crowds of 50,000 people a day.
Tournament officials say they were planning for capacity crowds, with or without Woods, because this is the last of the PGA's four major events.
However, tournament director Ryan Cannon said, "We've seen a 50 percent spike in tickets sales over the last three days. Either it was Tiger moving the needle or the fact that the championship is right around the corner and time is running out to purchase tickets."
Whatever the draw, there will be a lot of extra wheels added to the nearly 50,000 vehicles a day already traveling the north-south commuter route.
Next week Medlock Bridge Road will absorb more than 100 full-size motor coaches, area shuttle buses, 700 media and television broadcast personnel and hordes of fans attending the tournament.
Johns Creek resident Leslie Martinez, who travels the road every day for work, said she plans to "avoid Medlock Bridge" during the tournament and use Barnwell Road south as an alternate.
City and state crews have assembled a plan they hope will minimize any snags. It incorporates police from the city, state and Gwinnett and Fulton counties.
Transportation officials will monitor traffic patterns 18 hours a day from command centers in Atlanta and Johns Creek, Georgia DOT spokesman Mark McKinnon said.
"We're trying to manage traffic flow as best we can," he said. "But what you need to understand is that on a regular day Medlock Bridge is very congested."
Officials are encouraging visitors to use shuttle buses from the Gwinnett Center in Duluth, the main pickup and drop-off site for those attending the tournament. Traffic along the bus route also may be affected.
The buses will travel Sugarloaf Parkway north to Peachtree Industrial Boulevard, then west onto State Bridge Road until it intersects with Medlock Bridge. The buses then turn south, where a temporary traffic signal just south of the club will provide them a protected left turn into the lot.
Adventurous spectators who insist on driving will find little parking accommodation near the event. The field across from the club is assigned for vendors, staff, VIPs and the news media.
The city is posting signs along 11 nearby residential streets, prohibiting parking between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. through Aug. 14.
Crews also have installed 5,000 feet of barricades along the highway from Medlock Crossing to the Athletic Club in an effort to stop pedestrian crossings. Those on foot will be guided to a 140-feet-long pedestrian bridge that went up two weeks ago. The structure will be removed a week after the event.
The nearest large parking lot will be about a half-mile away at Perimeter Church on Old Alabama Road. The church is offering the PGA free use of three lots on the east side of its campus.
And while the regular worship schedule remains in place, church officials have encouraged parishioners to attend the 6 p.m. Saturday or 9 a.m. Sunday services, spokesman Randy Renbarger said.
"We're just volunteering the space as good neighbors," he said. "We want to help the community host the tournament."
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