Saturday’s 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Marathon Trials are notable for multiple reasons.

For one, they are the first Olympic event held in Atlanta since the 1996 Summer Games.

They are also going to be a big draw for spectators, particularly around fan activities at the Centennial Olympic Park start-finish line. And, much like the annual July 4th AJC Peachtree Road Race, these marathon trials are going to cause a myriad of big road closures Saturday in Midtown and Downtown Atlanta.

Then, more runners show up on the scene Sunday morning for the 2020 Publix Atlanta Marathon.

"It's one race to determine the three men and the three women that will represent Team U.S.A. in the marathon in the Olympics this summer," WSB sports director Jay Black said on the WSB Traffic Podcast. The reason Black discussed this with Doug Turnbull and Smilin' Mark McKay on that podcast, of course, is because this 26.2 set of loops will cause big closures through Midtown and Downtown Atlanta.

Officials will begin closing Marietta St. and Andrew Young International Blvd. at 7 a.m. Saturday and those will stay closed until the event’s conclusion at 4 p.m., as this is at the start-finish line.

Peachtree St. between 7th and 14th streets shuts down both ways from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m., as this is the main race loop.

The lower race loop shuts down parts of Piedmont Ave., Capitol Ave., MLK Jr. Dr., and Centennial Olympic Park Dr. from 1 to 3:30 p.m.

All of these closures prompt the exits off of I-75/85/northbound (the Downtown Connector) onto both Edgewood Ave. (Exit 248B) and Peachtree/Pine St. (Exit 249B) and I-20/westbound onto Capitol Ave. (Exit 58A) from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Street parking won’t be allowed on the course route starting at 8 a.m. And the Atlanta Streetcar won’t be in service from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

A fan event at the Georgia World Congress Center on Friday will increase the load on the Downtown Atlanta roads.

Combine these closures and events with the influx of traffic and crowds expected for the ongoing Atlanta International Auto Show at the Georgia World Congress Center, the AMA Supercross races Saturday evening at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and the concurrent Atlanta Hawks game at State Farm Arena. Traffic on I-75/85, I-20, and surrounding roads is going to be a mess all day and into the night.

The best transportation bet for all of these events is MARTA. The middle of the day Saturday is going to be the worst time to travel by vehicle into town this weekend.

Then the 2020 Publix Atlanta Marathon steps and rolls off early Sunday morning around Centennial Olympic Park as well. While Marietta St. and other roads around the park will field the event, runners will have their own lanes, so there will not be full road closures. The wheelchair and marathon waves begin at 6:50 a.m. MARTA is also the best avenue of travel for all of this.

View the full course map for Saturday's race and detailed closures here and listen for live traffic updates all weekend on 95.5 WSB.

Also run the Triple Team Traffic Alerts App while you drive to hear our automatic audio alerts in the area hands-free.

On the latest Triple Team Traffic podcast episode, Doug Turnbull and Smilin’ Mark McKay brought in WSB Sports Director Jay Black to talk the marathon trials.

>>LISTEN TO THE EPISODE IN ITS ENTIRETY BELOW.

You can also toss into the travel equation, the Monster Energy Supercross at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta Hawks Basketball at State Farm Arena Friday and Saturday, the Publix Marathon surrounding Centennial Olympic Park on Sunday, and the Atlanta International Auto Show at the Georgia World Congress Center all weekend, and it’s going to be a hectic travel weekend into downtown Atlanta!

Road crews are scheduled to create lane restrictions and overnight closures at the I-285/Georgia-400 corridor exit ramps in Sandy Springs. More work along the west side of the I-285 Perimeter will restrict lanes between Old National Hwy. (278, Exit 62) and Washington Rd. (Exit 1) along with work between I-20 (Exit 10) and S. Atlanta Road (Exit 16) in various locations. Work for I-85/North by Atlanta’s Buford Spring Connector (SR-13, Exit 86) is planned to block multiple right lanes through the weekend.

*All construction is as GDOT reports it and is weather-permitting. All times, lanes blocked, and locations could change.

ROAD CONSTRUCTION ZONES: 

• Sandy Springs/Dunwoody: I-285 East and West, between Roswell Rd. (Exit 25) and Ashford Dunwoody Road (Exit 29). Expect multiple lanes blocked during overnight hours.
• Sandy Springs: Georgia/400 North and South ramps to I-285 West (Exit 4B) and Georgia/400 North ramp to I-285 East (Exit 4A) will be blocked, at times, during overnight hours. Georgia/400 South, right lane blocked between Glenridge Connector (Exit 3) to north of Lenox Rd. (Exit 2). Georiga/400 North, 2 left lanes blocked from Glenridge Connector to I-285, Saturday evening, 2/29.
• Atlanta: I-285 Southbound from Atlanta Rd. (Exit 16) to Hollowell Parkway (Exit 12). Right lanes closed during overnight hours.
• Atlanta: I-285 Southbound from MLK, Jr. Drive (Exit 9) to Cascade Road (Exit 7) in two right lanes during overnight hours.
• Atlanta: I-285 Northbound from I-20 (Exit 10) to South Cobb Drive (Exit 15, Cobb Co.) in two right lanes during overnight hours.
• Atlanta: I-85 Northbound at Buford Spring Connector (SR-13, Exit 86) in two right lanes during overnight hours.
• Cobb Co.: I-75 Southbound at Barrett Parkway exit ramp (Exit 269). Left lane blocked during overnight hours.

WEEKEND EVENTS: 

• Atlanta: Mercedes-Benz Stadium –Monster Energy AMA Supercross Motorcycle Racing. Sat. 2/29, 4:30 PM.
• Atlanta: Atlanta Track Club- U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon. Saturday, 2/29. Full course details and road closures found here.
• Atlanta: State Farm Arena-NBA Basketball: Atlanta Hawks vs. Brooklyn Nets, Fri. 2/28, 7:30 PM; Hawks vs. Portland Trail Blazers, Sat. 2/29, 7:30 PM.
• Atlanta: Georgia World Congress Center (Bldg. C)- Atlanta International Auto Show. Through Sunday, 3/1 beginning at 12:00 Noon, daily.
• Atlanta: Atlanta Track Club-Publix Marathon/Half-Marathon/5K Road Race. Starts and finishes at Centennial Olympic Park. Sun. 3/1, 7:00 AM-12:00 Noon. Road course and streets affected, found here.
• Atlanta: Fox Theater- Joe Bonamassa in Concert- Fri.-Sat., 2/28-29 8:00 PM.
• Atlanta: Atlanta Symphony Hall- Northern Lights Part 2: The Grieg Piano Concerto. Sat. 2/29, 8:00 PM.
• Gwinnett Co.: Infinite Energy Center- ECHL Hockey: Atlanta Gladiators vs. Orlando Solarbears, Fri. 2/28, 7:35 PM; Gladiators vs. Norfolk Admirals, Sat. 2/29, 7:05 PM. NLL Lacrosse: Georgia Swarm vs. Calgary Roughnecks, Sat. 2/22, 7:00 PM.
• Cherokee Co.: Southern Highlands Cycling Race (Stage 1)- Downtown Woodstock, Friday 2/28, 5:30-10:00 PM. Mill St., Market St., Maple St. and Paden St. to be blocked.