Georgia highways reopen after Hurricane Michael

Cars cautiously pass downed pine trees as they travel along State Road 91 in Newton last Thursday. The Georgia Department of Transportation says nearly all state highways have reopened after Hurricane Michael. (ALYSSA POINTER/ALYSSA.POINTER@AJC.COM)

Cars cautiously pass downed pine trees as they travel along State Road 91 in Newton last Thursday. The Georgia Department of Transportation says nearly all state highways have reopened after Hurricane Michael. (ALYSSA POINTER/ALYSSA.POINTER@AJC.COM)

The Georgia Department of Transportation is nearly finished clearing state highways in the wake of Hurricane Michael.

On Monday afternoon the agency reported it has cleared 12,000 centerline miles of state routes. All but one – Ga. 45 in Colquitt County – now open to traffic. Ga. 45 is expected to reopen later today.

At one point, 247 routes were impassable as the hurricane left a trail of destruction across southern and central Georgia last Thursday.

The agency also said it has made significant progress in replacing nearly 300 damaged or destroyed traffic signal. Fewer than 25 signals across the state are still experiencing outages. Motorists should treat dark or flashing-red stoplights like four-way stops.

GDOT also has about 540 people working to clear local city and county roads. Motorists can call 511 to report blocked roads. The agency said motorists should not try to clear debris or move power lines themselves.