Motorists have had to deal with construction gridlock and rain this weekend, but it’s not all bad news.
The “diverging diamond” interchange at the Pleasant Hill Road bridge over I-85 in Gwinnett County opened.
The interchange, the second of its kind in Georgia, is similar to the one completed last year on Ashford Dunwoody Road at I-285. The bridge started to reopen to traffic at 11 a.m. and was set to be fully open to traffic around noon, authorities said.
Drivers were caught off-guard by last weekend’s massive traffic jam caused by the unannounced closure of several southbound lanes of the Downtown Connector, but this weekend, they got a helpful heads up.
The state Department of Transportation earlier this week announced plans to close the three right lanes of the southbound Connector from Edgewood Avenue to I-20 throughout the weekend to replace bridge joints.
Doug Turnbull in the AM750 and 95.5FM News/Talk WSB Traffic Center said major delays are expected on the Connector as well as on I-75, I-85 and Ga. 400 southbound headed into Midtown. Surface streets are also expected to be jammed, as motorists try to avoid the interstate congestion.
The work was expected to be finished by late Sunday afternoon.
All road construction is weather permitting, and while there is a chance of rain Sunday, any showers should be scattered.
Saturday, planned roadwork on the top-end of the Perimeter was canceled because of rain. Sunday, a couple of lanes in each direction were closed through the construction zone between I-75 and Ashford Dunwoody Road. Work ended before 4 p.m.
In DeKalb County, motorists found a couple of lanes of I-20 eastbound shut down from Columbia Drive to Panola Road. The work wrapped up by mid-afternoon Sunday.
In Sandy Springs, Lake Forrest Drive will be closed between Lake Summit and Cheavaux Court for at least one week while engineers check for possible damage due to recent heavy rainfall.
Southbound travelers will detour from Lake Forrest to Stewart Drive to Roswell Road and onto Maryanna Drive, which will connect back to Lake Forrest. For those traveling northbound, follow Maryanna Drive to Roswell Road to Stewart Drive, connecting back with Lake Forrest.
The rain from Tropical Storm Andrea stayed well east of metro Atlanta as the storm churned its way up the East Coast.
Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Brad Nitz predicted an 80 percent chance of rain Sunday.
Weekend highs will be in the mid-80s with lows in the 60s.
The Braves are on the west coast this weekend, but other weekend events include the Peachtree Hills Festival of the Arts at Peachtree Hills Park and the third annual “Tunes from the Tombs” music festival at Oakland Cemetery.
—Angel K. Brooks contributed to this report.
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