IT’S GOING TO BE A NIGHTMARE OVER THE LABOR DAY WEEKEND ON THE DOWNTOWN CONNECTOR. ONLY THIS TIME WE CAN BLAME THE 14TH STREET BRIDGE REPLACEMENT PROJECT AND NOT THE CONNECTOR REPAVEMENT PROGRAM. AS A MATTER OF FACT, FOR ALL INTENTS & PURPOSES, THAT’S DONE! OVER 2 MONTHS AHEAD OF SCHEDULE!
NO. THIS TIME THEY HAVE TO REMOVE WHAT’S LEFT OF THE BRIDGE AND PREP THE AREA FOR THE NEW, LONGER & TALLER BRIDGE OVER 75 AND 85.
SO, THAT’S GOING TO MEAN MULTIPLE LANE CLOSURES HEADED INTO TOWN ON A WEEKEND WHERE THERE’S GOING TO BE OVER 150-THOUSAND ADDITIONAL PEOPLE HEADED INTO TOWN!
INTERSTATE 85 WILL BE CHOPPED DOWN TO JUST 2 LANES HEADING INTO THE CONNECTOR. THE REDUCTION WILL BEGIN AROUND GEORGIA 400. INTERSTATE 75 WILL BE CUT DOWN TO JUST ONE LANE HEADING INTO DOWNTOWN WITH THE TAPERING BEGINNING AROUND THE HOWELL MILL/NORTHSIDE EXIT.
THEY’VE SHIFTED THE MERGE OF 75 & 85 ALL THE WAY DOWN BY 10TH STREET IN ORDER TO ACCOMPLISH THIS PROJECT. ONCE PAST THERE THE CONNECTOR WILL BE WIDE OPEN. THE PROBLEM IS GETTING THERE. IT’S GOING TO BE A MESS. IF YOU’RE COMING DOWN 85 YOU NEED TO BAIL NO LATER THAN THE PEACHTREE EXIT AND TAKE THE BUFORD/SPRING CONNECTOR. IF YOU’RE CLOSER TO SPAGHETTI JUNCTION THEN IT’S THE EASTSIDE PERIMETER TO I-20. ON 75 YOU REALLY DON’T HAVE MANY CHOICES EITHER. THE WESTSIDE PERIMETER WILL BE THE BEST BET. OTHERWISE YOU’LL HAVE TO WAIT YOUR TURN ON NORTHSIDE DRIVE.
THERE’S NO GETTING’ AROUND IT. IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE. IT’S GOING TO BE BAD. BUT, ACCORDING TO THE PEOPLE AT THE D.O.T. IT WAS EITHER THIS OR SOMETHING LIKE THIS FOR THE NEXT 4 OR 5 WEEKENDS. AND WITH BRAVES, FALCONS, TECH AND OTHER EVENTS RAMPING UP IN SEPTEMBER THEY DECIDED TO JUST GO AHEAD AND MAKE CLEMSON AND ALABAMA FANS PAY FOR OUR PROGRESS.
Once again, my acute powers of observation and empirical evidence gathering have led me to another possible answer to the question of how to solve some of our traffic problems. GET OUT OF THE LEFT LANE! I cannot believe the number of vehicles that ride in the "hammer" lane with a screw loose. I drove up to Athens, TN., Sunday to go scuba diving with my crew from Atlanta Scuba. On the way up & back I was taken aback by how many times I would get caught in the back of a line of cars only to find that it wasn't congestion it was just a slow moving vehicle that needed to be in the right lane to let faster traffic pass by. This lack of situational awareness is appalling. It causes other vehicles to swerve and dodge trying to get around. When it's not necessary! GET OUT OF THE LEFT LANE! And, once again I'm not just going to point the finger of blame, or another finger I think I might have used a few times Sunday. I think it's time law enforcement enforced the laws. Not just speeding, but violations like impeding the flow of traffic. I found out that Gwinnett County used to do it. If a GCPD officer spotted a vehicle on 85 on the left side with more than 2 vehicles behind it the lead vehicle would be pulled over and ticketed for impeding the flow. It's time to go back in time and bring that initiative back. Otherwise the back-ups will just keep getting worse.
Cincinnati Police Department pioneered traffic reporting back in the mid-1950's becoming the first uniformed police officer in the nation to broadcast helicopter traffic reports on the radio. He also had a children's safety game show program that taught kids about traffic. He tried out every question on Art-II. Art's radio "wonder bread" years were spent with the American Forces Radio & Television Service" where he served from the 
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