Stung by the I-85 bridge collapse, a local civic association has asked the state, the City of Atlanta and others to temporarily suspend all unnecessary construction to alleviate traffic congestion.
Buckhead Coalition President Sam Massell Monday asked for a temporary halt to “lane striping, pothole repairs, crane road closings and even leaf blowing” in an effort to keep traffic moving. The organization made its plea to the Georgia Department of Transportation, the Atlanta City Council, the Atlanta Department of Public Works, the Commercial Board of Realtors, the National Association Industrial and Office Properties, the Association of Building Contractors and Associated General Contractors, as well as a general public.
Local roads in the Buckhead area are packed as motorists accustomed to traveling I-85 have been stymied by its closure near Piedmont Road. GDOT officials say they expect to reopen the highway by June 15. In the meantime, local roads and other major highways are expected to pick up traffic that would ordinarily flow to I-85.
GDOT spokeswoman Natalie Dale said Monday the agency has already taken steps to alleviate local traffic.
“GDOT is not permitting lane closures on state routes in Buckhead except for Northside Drive,” she said. “We have a project at Northside and Collier that once finished will aid with the movement of displaced traffic.”
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