[UPDATE, 9:45 p.m.]: Former President Donald Trump has stepped off stage, and rolling interstate blockades will interrupt traffic again. Expect lanes of I-85 South in Gwinnett and DeKalb counties to close as Trump returns to DeKalb-Peachtree Airport after his rally at Gas South Arena in Duluth.
An estimated 15,000 people attended Trump’s rally, according to campaign officials. A spokeswoman said the Gas South Arena event was the biggest rally its campaign has held in Georgia this cycle.
Vice President Kamala Harris’ motorcade will impact traffic in the Atlanta area on Thursday. She is set to hold a joint rally with former President Barack Obama that will be headlined by rock legend Bruce Springsteen.
[UPDATE, 6:45 p.m.]: All lanes of I-85 have reopened northeast of Atlanta after former President Donald Trump traveled on the interstate to his campaign rally at Gas South Arena in Duluth, the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center reported.
The shutdown of all I-85 North lanes lasted about half an hour as the Republican presidential nominee’s motorcade drove from DeKalb-Peachtree Airport to the site of his 7 p.m. rally.
Trump spent the afternoon in Georgia with a town hall covering faith-based issues at a church in Zebulon, about 50 miles south of Atlanta.
[UPDATE, 6:10 p.m.]: The northbound lanes of I-85 are closed from Shallowford Road in DeKalb County to Old Peachtree Road in Gwinnett County, according to the Georgia Department of Transportation.
The expected closure comes in preparation for former President Donald Trump to travel to his campaign rally at Gas South Arena in Duluth. The rally is set to begin at 7 p.m., but the doors to the arena have been open since 1 p.m.
The lane closures on I-85 are causing traffic backups elsewhere, including in both directions on I-285. Lane closures are also expected on Sugarloaf Parkway leading to the site of the rally, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Team. Drivers are advised to avoid the area of Spaghetti Junction and the streets around Gas South Arena.
[ORIGINAL STORY]: Former President Donald Trump returns to metro Atlanta on Wednesday for another multi-stop campaign visit that is expected to cause traffic disruptions in DeKalb and Gwinnett counties.
This will be the Republican presidential nominee’s second visit to the Atlanta area in just over a week as both he and his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, focus on Georgia as a major battleground. According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s latest poll, Trump enjoys a 4% lead over Harris in the state.
On Wednesday, Trump will first visit Zebulon, about 50 miles south of Atlanta, for a midafternoon town hall before turning north for an evening rally in Duluth, about 20 miles northeast of town.
Trump is expected to touch down in Georgia in the early afternoon and is likely to fly between his events, according to public alerts published by the Federal Aviation Administration.
The former president appears set to land at the Thomaston-Upson County Airport before heading to Christ Chapel in Zebulon. Trump will be joined by Lt. Governor Burt Jones at the church for the “Believers and Ballots Faith Town Hall” event, which begins at 3 p.m.
According to Trump’s website, Christ Chapel’s doors are scheduled to open at noon. FAA alerts show that airspace restriction and other security measures will begin around 1:15 p.m. and run through 6 p.m.
After the town hall, Trump is expected to fly from Thomaston to DeKalb-Peachtree Airport just northeast of Atlanta, per FAA alerts. From there, his motorcade is likely to travel north on I-85 to Gas South Arena in Duluth, the site of a 7 p.m. rally. Airspace restrictions in the area will begin at 4 p.m. and run through 10:30 p.m., according to the FAA.
Gas South Arena will open its doors for the rally at 1 p.m., when Gwinnett residents can expect some traffic disruptions to begin. Metro Atlanta’s evening commuters will see I-85 North completely shut down sometime between 5-7 p.m. The interstate’s southbound lanes will also shut down after the rally, though the traffic impact should be lessened between 9-10:30 p.m.
Trump last visited Oct. 15, participating in a Fox News townhall in Cumming before holding a rally in Cobb County. Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, spent the past weekend in metro Atlanta, where she held rallies in both Fulton and DeKalb counties.
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