All roads lead to Atlanta for Saturday's SEC Championship football game and annual Children's Christmas Parade, but some of those roads cold be jammed with weekend construction.
Here’s what you’ll need to know to avoid this weekend’s work zone bottlenecks:
Express Lanes project to shut lanes on I-75 north and south of Atlanta
Two lanes of I-75 will be closed in each direction between Windy Ridge Parkway and Windy Hill Road from 9 p.m. Friday through 5 a.m. Saturday.
The ramp from the Canton Road Connector to I-75 southbound in Cobb County will be shut down for work on the Express Lanes project from 9 p.m. Friday through 5 a.m. Saturday. A detour will route motorists north on I-75 to Barrett Parkway, where motorists will then enter I-75 going south.
One lane of I-285 westbound between I-75 and Cobb Parkway will be closed during those same hours.
A traffic pace will shut down all lanes of I-75 in both directions between Windy Hill Road and Marietta Parkway from 6:30 to 9:30 a.m. Sunday.
Another traffic pacing operation shut down all lanes of I-75 in both directions between Hudson Bridge Road and Mt. Zion Boulevard from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday. That same traffic project will also shut down I-675 in both directions between I-75 and Ga. 42 during the same hours.
Sign structure work will close two northbound lanes of I-75 between South Marietta Parkway and North Marietta Parkway from 8 p.m. Sunday until 5 a.m. Monday.
East of Atlanta, two westbound lanes of I-20, along with the on and off ramps, will be closed between U.S. 278 and Alcovy Road throughout the weekend.
Two westbound lanes and one eastbound lane of I-285 will be closed at Moreland Avenue from 9 p.m. Friday through 5 a.m. Monday.
On the east side Perimeter, up to three lanes of I-285 in each direction will be closed all weekend between Chamblee Tucker Road and I-20 for lane striping.
One lane of Ga. 400 in each direction between Lenox and Holcomb Bridge roads will be closed nightly, also for lane striping.
» For updated traffic information, listen to News 95.5 and AM 750 WSB and follow @ajcwsbtraffic on Twitter.
Weekend will be dry and cool
It won’t rain on Atlanta’s Christmas Parade, Channel 2 meteorologist Karen Minton promises.
Minton said sunny skies will prevail throughout the weekend before a slight chance of rain moves in on Monday.
Weekend highs will be in the upper 50s, with lows in the mid-30s Saturday and upper 30s Sunday.
» Check the full forecast and track changes
Christmas Parade, SEC Championship highlight weekend events
The annual Children’s Christmas Parade benefiting Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta steps off at 10:30 a.m. Saturday in Midtown, marching down Peachtree Street from 16th Street to 5th Street. The parade will be televised live on Channel 2.
Later Saturday, Alabama and Florida play for the SEC Championship at 4 p.m. at the Georgia Dome.
The SEC Fanfare will be open from 2 to 8 p.m. Friday and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Georgia World Congress Center, which is also hosting the CheerSport Grand Championships Saturday and Sunday.
Next door at Philips Arena, the Hawks take on the Lakers Friday night.
The city of Alpharetta will light its Christmas tree across from City Hall during festivities that begin at 5 p.m. Saturday, while Duluth’s tree lighting will also be Saturday evening on the Duluth Town Green.
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