'Avengers' movie causes lane closures, creates more traffic

This browser does not support the video element.

ATLANTA — The normal afternoon gridlock is a little worse in midtown Atlanta where a busy street is closed to shoot a movie.

"The Avengers" movie set on 14th Street is making traffic worse.

Channel 2's Dave Huddleston talked with officials from the Georgia Department of Transportation and they recommend drivers use alternate routes to ease some of the congestion being caused by "The Avengers."

Over the past week, Channel 2 Action News has kept you updated on a lane project that's caused congestion and confusion in Midtown Atlanta.

TRENDING STORIES:

"It's horrendous," said Amanda Gross.

Amanda Gross lives inside the Perimeter, but she says with lane closures and movie production crews shutting down 14th Street in Midtown, even her commute can be hard to bear.

"To and from work, it is about 15 minutes," Gross said. "But, depending on when I leave in the morning, that 15 can turn into about 35."

Barbara Orbentz lives in Cobb County. She and her daughter drove into the city for lunch and couldn't believe the amount of traffic.

"I was just sharing with my daughter that it's getting worse that I was very surprised when we came down from 75 how bad the traffic really was," Orbentz said.

Traffic officials said the building construction, movie sets and art projects that closed a lane on Peachtree Road are making commuters angry.

"When it's your commute, it's very personal," said Natalie Dale of the Georgia Department of Transportation.

Dale said the Department of Transportation tries to coordinate when projects start and finish. It also tries to do some work at night. She recommends commuters check the roads before they get behind the wheel. If you think a road project is taking too long, call the department.

"While these aren't our developments, we work to make sure lane closure are done at an appropriate time," Dale said. "If they stay over their welcome in the road, we have inspectors who can get out there and pull them back."

The movie project wraps up production work today, and this road will be back to normal. For other lane and road closures, Dale recommends you call and use the GDOT 511 app.

You can also listen to Triple Team Traffic on WSB Radio and Channel 2 Action News.