Traffic is expected to be heavy over this Easter weekend and worse next weekend because of the Final Four basketball tournament, the NCAA Division II and Division III basketball championships and the Braves all in town.
The state Department of Transportation is doing its part to help with traffic by limiting lane closures for construction these next three weekends.
Big events downtown this weekend include the Big South volleyball tournament, which began Friday morning and continues through Sunday at the Georgia World Congress Center. The Cobb Galleria Centre is also hosting some of the tournament matches.
Also downtown, Alicia Keys will be performing Friday night at Philips Arena, while the Hawks play Saturday night at the arena.
The weather won’t be so great this weekend, with a chance of rain forecast for each day.
Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Karen Minton reports that the chance of rain is 20 percent late in the day on Friday, increasing to 40 percent Saturday and 60 percent Sunday.
Temperatures should be in the mid-60s Friday and Saturday, warming to around 70 on Sunday, Minton said. Lows will be in the upper 40s to low 50s.
Looking ahead to next week, in addition to the college basketball games at the Georgia Dome and Philips Arena and a Braves home series against the Cubs at Turner Field, there will be a series of Final Four-related free concerts expected to draw thousands to Centennial Olympic Park and the NCAA Bracket Town fan festival at the Georgia World Congress Center.
Atlanta police are expecting crowds in excess of 100,000 per day to head downtown for those events.
“The Atlanta Police Department strongly urges people to take MARTA or one of the many hotel shuttles operating throughout the weekend,” police spokeswoman Elizabeth Espy said.
Espy said the department has canceled off days, and officers will be working 12-hour shifts.
-Staff writer Bryan Cronan contributed to this article.
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