ATLANTA — A major rebuild project on Interstate 285’s westside is expected to create significant travel impacts across metro Atlanta this Mother’s Day weekend.
Several miles of I-285 between Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Cascade Road in Fulton County will close in both directions beginning at 7 p.m. Friday night. The closure is scheduled to last until 5 a.m. Monday morning.
The Georgia Department of Transportation says crews will begin rebuilding portions of the roadway, replacing concrete slabs that are roughly 60 years old.
“We are rebuilding the western portion of I-285,” GDOT spokesperson Natalie Dale said.
Dale said the project is a rebuild, not a resurfacing project.
“We can’t do that on the road as it is now or it would raise the profile too high, trucks wouldn’t be able to get under bridges in metro Atlanta, we do not like when trucks hit bridges,” Dale said.
Officials say the closure will impact drivers well beyond Atlanta’s westside. Dale said detours will reroute travelers and commercial trucks through the downtown connector.
“You’ll have big rigs going through the downtown connector via the detour and that’s not typically allowed,” Dale said.
Dale warned drivers across metro Atlanta to expect delays during the closure.
“Even if you’re not on the west side, it is likely that this could have reciprocal impacts to other areas,” Dale said.
The rebuild project will cover about 17 miles of I-285 over the next three years and will require several similar weekend closures.
“They’re going to interrupt our weekend or some weekends over the next three years,” Dale said.
“This is the first closure of what will be more over the next three years,” Dale added.
Officials say the work is intended to address deteriorating roadway conditions along the corridor.
“Those concrete slabs are roughly 60 years old and so they have well out lived their useful life,” Dale said.
Dale also referenced the condition of the roadway bumps drivers have experienced along the route.
“Someone said I almost hit one that was the size of a two bedroom two bath apartment,” Dale said.
Drivers traveling through the area are being urged to plan ahead and use alternate routes.
- Drivers traveling on I-285 north use I-85 by the airport to reach the downtown connector.
- Drivers traveling on I-285 south are advised to take I-75 south through northwest Atlanta to the downtown connector.
- Drivers near the airport and Interstate 20 are encouraged to use Camp Creek Parkway and Thornton Road.
If storms move through the area this weekend, officials say the project and closure could be postponed.
95.5 WSB’s traffic team will provide around-the-clock coverage of the closure and traffic impacts throughout the weekend.