G-DOT Warns of Summertime Road Work Across Northeast Georgia

Plan ahead, drive alert and watch for work zones.

That’s the advice to motorists from the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) as an active summer construction season gets into full swing with projects beginning or underway throughout the state.

If you’re headed down to Atlanta, G-DOT spokesperson Teri Pope said watch out for some major delays on all of the Interstates.

“This is the summer of the orange barrel in metro Atlanta,” Pope said. “There are projects on just about every Interstate in the metro area; on I-285, I-75 North and I-75 south, and on I-16 south of Atlanta. So, whether you’re going to grandmother’s house, driving straight through Atlanta to Florida or going to the airport, you are more than likely going to encounter work zones this summer.”

Of course, here in our area, the ongoing widening of SR17 is also expected to cause some slow downs as GDOT crews work to get as much of that project completed during the warm weather as possible.

“That’s almost 10 miles of roadway under construction. This is our paving season. So, you’re going to see a lot of huge equipment out there. It will be tempting to slow down and watch, but only watch if you are a passenger. Drivers need to be paying attention to the lane changes and barrels and what’s happening around them.”

Pope said another area of concern where motorists can expect some major traffic tie-ups and delays is in the area of Lake Lanier where beginning today a bridge on SR284 will be closed.

GDOT is also taking some steps to make traveling as headache free as possible this summer, such as limiting lane closures to times of lighter traffic volume and in metro areas, confining lane closures to a max of two consecutive miles.

And Pope reminds motorists to plan their travel route ahead of time and allow plenty of time for slow-downs and delays.  You can also access GDOT’s 511 line to get real-time traffic information before you leave home.