The first weekend of spring will be a Jekyll and Hyde affair – dry on Saturday, but with a good chance that rain on Sunday could force an early end to planned weekend roadwork on metro Atlanta interstates.
Here’s what you’ll need to know to avoid this weekend’s long slate of road construction:
Bridge work on I-20, Georgia Express Lanes construction on I-75
Construction of the new Georgia Express Lanes on I-75 and I-575 in Cobb County will lead to closures and pacing in a couple of spots.
The Georgia Department of Transportation warns that construction crews will be temporarily stopping, or pacing, traffic on all lanes of I-75 in both directions near the Ga. 5 exit beginning at 6 a.m. Saturday to allow Georgia Power crews to pull cables across the interstate.
At the southern end of the project, one lane of the exit ramp from I-285 westbound to Cobb Parkway will be closed from 9 p.m. Friday through 5 a.m. Monday.
On I-20, bridge work will shut down three eastbound lanes between Langhorn and McDaniel streets, two westbound lanes from the Downtown Connector to Langhorn Street and two westbound lanes between I-285 and Fulton Industrial Boulevard, beginning at 9 p.m. Friday and continuing through 5 a.m. Monday.
East of Atlanta, the ramps to and from I-20 and Ga. 12/U.S. 278 at Exit 90 will be shut down all weekend for more bridge repairs, and two lanes of I-20 eastbound will be closed between that exit and Almon Road from 7 a.m. until 2 p.m. Saturday to allow contractors to paint the Old Oxford Road bridge.
Elsewhere, bridge work in Spaghetti Junction will shut down one lane of the ramp from I-85 northbound to I-285 westbound throughout the weekend.
On the southwest quadrant of I-285, sign structure work will block two northbound lanes from Camp Creek Parkway to Langford Parkway all weekend, while on the top-end Perimeter, more sign work will block two lanes of I-285 in each direction between I-85 and Northlake Parkway.
On the west side, two northbound lanes of I-285 will be closed from I-20 to Bolton Road, while two southbound lanes will be shut down between I-20 and Martin Luther King Jr. all weekend for concrete rehabilitation.
Road work on Ga. 400 will block one southbound lane from the old toll plaza to I-85 from 6 a.m. Saturday until 5 a.m. Monday and one northbound lane from Lenox Road to I-285 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday.
»Click here for updated traffic reports throughout the weekend from the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center
Weather will be dry on Saturday, damp on Sunday
All of the scheduled road work is weather-permitting, and the weather should cooperate on Saturday, but not so much on Sunday.
Spring begins with Friday’s 6:45 p.m. vernal equinox, and spring showers are likely by the end of the new season’s first weekend.
Channel 2 meteorologist Karen Minton said Saturday will be partly cloudy and warm, with a morning low around 53 and an afternoon high around 73.
Rain should move back into metro Atlanta Saturday night, and Minton is predicting a 70 percent chance of rain for Sunday, along with lows in the low 50s and highs in the low 60s.
»Check the full forecast and track changes
Marathon, Hawks and preaching top weekend events downtown
Televangelist Joel Osteen brings his “Night of Hope” to the Georgia Dome at 7 p.m. Saturday, while next door at Philips Arena, the Hawks play San Antonio at 3 p.m. Sunday.
Also on Sunday, the Publix Georgia Marathon and Half-Marathon begins at 7 a.m. in Centennial Olympic Park.
The marathon's route takes runners to downtown Decatur and back, while the half-marathon route stays inside the city of Atlanta. The finish line for both races is in Centennial Olympic Park.
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