ATLANTA — Drivers across metro Atlanta need to know about not one, but two major Georgia Department of Transportation projects that start Friday night.
The first will replace an old bridge between Interstate 85 and Buford Highway and shut down part of North Druid Hills Road for three months.
The second project is part of the ongoing Interstate 285 and Georgia 400 interchange project. GDOT crews will shut down the ramps from Ga. 400 southbound and I-285 westbound onto the Glenridge Connector for five weeks.
Channel 2 Action News has been getting drivers ready for the changes for the projects throughout the week.
On Wednesday, Channel 2′s Bryan Mims got a look at the bridge in Brookhaven as crews worked on the final preparations.
Workers will tear down and replace the bridge over North Peachtree Fork Creek with a wider one. The current bridge has been in place for 62 years.
The businesses next to the work site, like a gas station and the LUV car wash, will still be accessible from North Druid Hills Road. Drivers can expect to see a five-mile detour.
“I know how much traffic comes through that corridor. For three months? That’s terrible for commuters. It’s terrible for people trying to get into the city and get into Buckhead from here,” driver Josiah Oakley said.
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In Sandy Springs, the Glenridge Connector ramp closure is one of the last phases of the I-285 and Ga. 400 overhaul, which has been underway since 2017.
Workers are replacing concrete slabs and repaving portions of the road. Drivers are grudgingly gearing up for the detours.
“That means traffic is gonna be out the wazoo. It’s gonna be terrible. It’s gonna take 45 minutes just to take a five-minute ride now and all the backroads are gonna be stuffed,” one driver told Mims on Thursday.
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