BROOKHAVEN, Ga. — Commuters are waking up Wednesday morning to the end of detours and headaches along North Druid Hills Road in Brookhaven.
Long before the morning rush hour, crews finished dismantling and rebuilding the bridge over the North Fork Peachtree Creek between I-85 and Buford Highway. Given 90 days, they finished their work with hours to spare.
The 60-year-old bridge could no longer handle the volume of traffic along that busy stretch of road. The new Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta complex nearby made the need to build a new bridge more urgent.
The road's reopening ends a challenging time for the thousands of commuters who use North Druid Hills to get from I-85 to Buford Highway. GDOT created a five-mile detour around the work, and many ignored GDOT’s direction, creating their own way.
"You’ve got to wiggle through here,” said one driver of all the barrels covering the roadway. “It’s real chaotic.”
The focus will now move to the interchange of North Druid Hills Road and I-85, where crews will build new ramps, lanes, and a new bridge over the interstate.
While the orange barrels will move from one area to another, drivers will enjoy their early morning gift along North Druid Hills Road.