If you wrote a song about this weekend's road construction, the lyrics would be, "east side, west side, all around the town ..."
Few, if any, parts of the metro area will escape the traffic slowdowns that have become a regular part of weekend life in our town.
Weather permitting, repaving will shut down interstate lanes on I-75 northbound from Forest Parkway to Cleveland Avenue, and on the Downtown Connector in both directions between Ga. 166 and University Avenue from 9 p.m. Friday until 5 a.m. Monday.
Some entrance and exit ramps in those areas could also be blocked by construction.
In DeKalb County, repaving will block the three left lanes of I-20 in each direction around Columbia Drive all weekend. Doug Turnbull in the AM750 and now 95.5FM News/Talk WSB Traffic Center says there will also be work on the ramp from I-285 southbound to I-20 eastbound in DeKalb as well as on I-285 in both directions between Chamblee Tucker and Ashford Dunwoody roads.
In northwest Atlanta, the right lane of I-75 northbound will be closed between Northside Drive to Moores Mill Road, while in Douglas County, bridge work will shut down the two left lanes of I-20 westbound at Thornton Road.
The roadwork could make it tough for fans traveling to Turner Field, where the Braves play the Washington Nationals at 7:35 p.m. on Friday, 7:10 p.m. on Saturday and 1:35 p.m. on Sunday; the Gwinnett Braves take on Norfolk at 7:10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and at 2:05 p.m. on Sunday.
At Philips Arena, the Atlanta Dream plays the Chicago Sky at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, and a big crowd is expected for a Britney Spears concert at 7 p.m. Sunday.
If rain comes as forecast, however, those construction projects -- and the baseball games -- could be put on hold.
Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Karen Minton is calling for a 60 percent chance of rain on Friday, decreasing slightly to 50 percent on Saturday.
Afternoon highs Friday and Saturday are expected to only reach the low to mid-80s, about 15 degrees below temperatures recorded earlier this week.
On Sunday, the chance of rain decreases to 20 percent, and afternoon highs increase a bit to around 87 degrees, Minton said.
Late Thursday night and early Friday, Atlanta’s official rain gauge at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport recorded 1.01 inches of rain.
At 8 a.m. Friday, weather radar showed an area of rain over Gwinnett County, while another batch of rain was southwest of Atlanta, moving toward the Carrollton area.
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