ATLANTA — A road construction project caused a traffic nightmare during the morning rush hour Thursday for people heading into work in midtown Atlanta.
Channel 2 Action News started receiving phone calls from frustrated drivers who said it took them 20 to 25 minutes just to drive one block because of construction along 17th Street at Spring Street.
"I don't have any idea what's going on," driver Daniel Admanson told Channel 2's Dave Huddleston.
Admanson said he drives the stretch of road to get to work and the construction projects during rush hour can be frustrating.
TRENDING STORIES:
- Roommate accused of killing CAU student Alexis Crawford denied bond
- Country superstar Sam Hunt charged with DUI
- Recall alert: 97K pounds of salad recalled due to E. coli contamination
"I think there should be some sort of direction from the construction people or whoever is doing it about what is going on," Admanson said.
The problem isn't new. About three years ago, Huddleston did a story with Atlanta City Councilman Howard Shook, who wanted a study done to find out why crews can't do road project during off hours.
"We may want to limit street lane closure permits, so maybe utility work has to be done at 2 in the morning instead of 5 in the afternoon," Shook said at the time.
Huddleston checked with in Shook again Thursday, and he told him that when he asked public works about the issue, officials told him they are limiting lane closures during the morning and evening peak traffic times.
Atlanta Public Works told Huddleston the city only allows lane closures during off-peak hours between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., except for emergencies repairs, which may extend past the designated hours.
Night time lane closures are permitted between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m.