Police activity, water main break continue to stifle Atlanta's roads

Problems have been popping up on Atlanta's roads all day Wednesday, from I-75 and Tara Boulevard being shut down on the Southside to several issues stifling the evening commute.

At the peak of Wednesday’s drive home, authorities have blocked Old Roswell Road between Warsaw Road and Commerce Parkway while taking a kidnapping suspect into custody, according to the Alpharetta Department of Public Safety.

MORE: Kidnapping suspect in custody; Alpharetta police presence blocking road

Old Roswell Rd between Warsaw Rd and Commerce Pkwy remains closed.

Waiting on search warrant to continue our investigation of a kidnapping suspect who we have in custody. pic.twitter.com/x1PuPZ6HEl
— AlpharettaPublicSafety (@AlpharettaDPS) October 16, 2019

Gwinnett County is gridlocked in many areas after a water main break shut down Buford Highway near Suwanee Creek Park, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center.

Water main repair has shut down Buford Hwy. much of the day in front of Suwanee Creek Park, just s of McGinnis Ferry. No #ATLtraffic delays. Take Peachtree Industrial. https://t.co/wuaZctebme pic.twitter.com/zzShS9oI4E
— 🔥Fireball Turnbull 🚁 (@DougTurnbull) October 16, 2019

The good news is most of the other delays aren’t due to wrecks or other incidents. It’s mostly just a lot of cars, whose drivers are also ready to get home, the Traffic Center reported.

Downtown: Traffic still stacked and packed on the Connector/sb (75-85) the whole way through Midtown down to I-20. No crashes, just volume. #ATLtraffic https://t.co/j2xHL1ZFrc pic.twitter.com/ztg5AvJyd1
— AJC WSB Traffic (@ajcwsbtraffic) October 16, 2019

The other good news is the rain that made a mess of the morning commute is over, Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Eboni Deon said. The light rain and fog caused a whole host of traffic problems this morning, stretching the morning rush into the 9 and 10 a.m. hours.

Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM

Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM

Deon said a warm front that started its trek Tuesday progressed slowly across the state Wednesday morning, creating the opportunity for rain. Those early showers moved out, but that’s not the only system that will impact weather Wednesday, Deon said.

A cold front is set to move in later.

“Far back to the north and west we have some clearing,” she said. “We will get in on that as we go through the day. As that frontal boundary slides through, it’s going to sweep all this moisture out along with it.”

Clearing behind this morning's cloudy and wet start in Atlanta. This is the view from our Freedom Pkwy cam. Clouds will continue to decrease through the day. pic.twitter.com/V0JOl9TfMR
— Eboni Deon, WSB (@EboniDeonWSB) October 16, 2019

The wind has also been picking up, helping to dry out the region.

Atlanta topped out in the low 70s, with temps now hovering in the mid-60s.

Overnight and into Thursday morning, North Georgia will turn much cooler.

“We will feel widespread 40s all across the area,” Deon said. “This is the coldest air we've seen so far this season. There are going to be a number of areas, at least right along the Tennessee and Georgia border, that will be dropping back into the 30s.”

I'm tracking a big drop in our temps behind the cold front. We'll wake up Thursday in the 40s in the metro and across north Georgia. pic.twitter.com/3z4B7IduaR
— Eboni Deon, WSB (@EboniDeonWSB) October 16, 2019

Deon expects to see morning lows in the 40s at least through Friday. Afternoon highs will be a bit more seasonable in the upper 60s and lower 70s through the end of the work week, she said, and it will stay dry.

“But heading into the weekend, that’s when we are going to notice a lot of Gulf of Mexico moisture streaking northward, so with all that tropical moisture, rain chances move back in Saturday to Sunday.”

Both days this weekend have a 40% chance of some showers and storms, according to Channel 2.