This second weekend of 2016 is expected to start out rainy and then get colder, with numerous highway construction projects in the mix to keep motorists on their toes.
Here’s what you need to remember to avoid the work zone backups:
Work planned for most metro highways
The Express Lanes project will require southbound I-75 drivers wanting to get to Cobb Parkway to take a detour from 10 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Sunday to get around a closure of the exit ramp. Traffic traveling I-75 southbound to Cobb Parkway will take the ramp to I-285 westbound to Paces Ferry Road (Exit 18), then turn left on Paces Ferry Road and then turn left again to double back to Cobb Parkway via eastbound I-285.
Alternating lanes will be closed on I-285 between the I-75 interchange and Cobb Parkway from 9 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Sunday.
Two southbound lanes will be closed on I-75 at Barrett Parkway from 10 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Sunday.
One northbound and one southbound lane on I-75 will be closed between Chastain Road and Wade Green Road from 9 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Saturday.
One southbound lane on I-75 will be closed on the on-ramp to the Canton Road Connector from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
A flagging operation will slow traffic on Bells Ferry Road under I-75 from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
South of town, one northbound lane and shoulder will be closed on I-675 at Stockbridge Road from 7 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday.
One southbound lane and shoulder will be closed on I-75 between Jodeco Road and Jonesboro Road from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Work to bore a cable line under I-85 will stop traffic in 15-minute intervals, starting on the access roads. The work will affect the southbound and northbound lanes between Clairmont Road and North Druid Hills Road from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Sunday.
Work on sign structures will close lanes on several metro highways this weekend. Two northbound and two southbound lanes on I-75 between Windy Hill Road and North Marietta Parkway will be closed from 9 p.m. Friday to 9 p.m. Saturday.
Two westbound lanes and one eastbound lane on I-285 at Bouldercrest Road will close from 9 p.m. Saturday to 5 a.m. Monday.
Also, two westbound lanes on I-285 between Riverdale Road and the I-85 interchange will close from 12 p.m. Saturday to 5 a.m. Monday.
And one westbound lane on I-285 at Jonesboro Road will close from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Saturday.
In other work, one eastbound lane on I-285 will close at the I-675 interchange from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Saturday.
One eastbound lane and the shoulder on I-20 will close between Fulton Industrial Boulevard and the I-285 interchange from 9 p.m. Friday to 7 p.m. Sunday.
And two eastbound lanes on I-20 will be closed between Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Joseph E. Lowery Boulevard from 10 p.m. Friday to 7 p.m. Sunday.
» For updated traffic information, listen to News 95.5 and AM 750 WSB and follow @ajcwsbtraffic on Twitter.
Weekend starts out rainy, then colder, drier
Channel 2 meteorologist Karen Minton is forecasting rain chances up to 80 percent Saturday, giving way to cooler, drier weather Sunday.
Starting with a low in the mid 40s, Saturday’s afternoon high is expected to be about 53. Colder weather blows in on Sunday, with a morning high of 47 giving way to falling temperatures later in the day and Monday-morning lows expected to hit the mid-20s.
» Check the full forecast and track changes
Monster Jam highlights weekend events
The show of driver gymnastics in vehicles that are definitely not GMO-free is expected to draw about 65,000 spectators to the Georgia Dome at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Next door at Philips Arena, the Hawks and Chicago Bulls square off at 5 p.m. Saturday.
On Sunday evening, the Imaging USA conference of photographers is expected to draw 10,000.
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