Editor’s note: A previous version of this story erroneously used a file photo from 2009 flooding on the Downtown Connector. The photo has been removed.
It was weather that caused Sunday afternoon flooding on the Downtown Connector after all.
Around 1:30 p.m. Sunday, the Georgia Department of Transportation announced all north- and southbound lanes of the Connector were closed near Exit 249B. Motorists were advised to seek alternate routes, and a GDOT 511 operator told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the flooding was due to a water main break.
Shortly after 5 p.m., however, Lillian Govus, the director of communications for the city of Atlanta’s Department of Watershed Management, told the AJC that clogged drains were to blame. There was never a water main break, she said.
Govus said watershed crews were the first to arrive at the scene and helped unclog the drains. At about 2:10 p.m., the GDOT website said the Connector had been reopened.
“It was a flash storm and these sorts of natural events are really difficult to plan for,” Govus said, adding that the drains along the interstate are GDOT responsibility.
No further information was immediately available. Attempts to contact an official GDOT spokesperson were not immediately successful.
Storms also complicated matters elsewhere.
At least three trees were reported down intown, including one that blocked Virginia Avenue near John Howell Park, one on Virginia Circle and one at Euclid and Moreland avenues. Traffic lights were out and standing water was reported in the Piedmont Park area near 10th Street.
Shortly before 3 p.m., MARTA issued an alert that some buses were being re-routed due to a vehicle “stuck in the mud” at North and Piedmont avenues.
Rain totals in excess of two inches were recorded around the metro, and small hail was reported in the Cumming and Buford areas. In Lawrenceville, the Gwinnett Braves postponed their game and reported that 3.25 inches of rain had fallen at Coolray Field.
Gwinnett County fire department spokesman Capt. Tommy Rutledge said crews responded to a total of 81 incidents between 1 and 4 p.m.
“Fortunately, there were no reports of major damage and no serious injuries as a result of the storm,” Rutledge said.
Storms were expected to continue moving through the area throughout the evening, with “frequent lightning and heavy rain” possible, Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Brian Monahan said.
Forecasts called for a 60 percent chance of rain every day through Thursday.
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