ATLANTA — Work is underway on a section of North Druid Hills Road on a project that will bring major changes and new challenges for commuters there.
Commuters traveling in the area of North Druid Hills Road, I-85, and Buford Highway are experiencing the occasional lane closures that may cause a minor inconvenience. The coming months will bring major work that will close a section of North Druid Hills Road to replace a bridge built in the 60s, leading to a detour that will take drivers five miles out of their way.
North Druid Hills Road detour route
Commuters used to traveling North Druid Hills to get between I-85 and Buford Highway will have to take a different route. GDOT is suggesting a detour that will take traffic onto the interstate to Clairmont Road to cross I-85
What commuters and GDOT are saying
Commuter John Carter works off of North Druid Hills. He moved to metro Atlanta in the 1970s and began a daily commute that took him across the bridge that spans North Peachtree Creek.
“I remember the bridge getting larger, making the bridge larger again,” said Carter. “I think this is the third time they’ve done that.”
Growth in the area includes the new Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta complex and the early stages of Emory’s Executive Park complex.
“You have not only the day to day congestion but the congestion that will come with the growth of these healthcare facilities,” said GDOT’s Natalie Dale.
Project details
New ramps are coming at the interchange of North Druid Hills and I-85, along with a new bridge over the interstate that will make accessing I-85 from North Druid Hills Road much easier.
But first, GDOT crews will have to deal with that old bridge.
Work is underway to move utility polls along North Druid Hills. That work will take until the end of the year. Early next year, the bridge over North Peachtree Creek will close for 90 days as crews work to dismantle and replace it.
Dale says closing the road completely will make the project go by faster.
“Ninety days, while it is an inconvenience, it is a consolidated inconvenience that we can get this bridge rebuilt and get motorists on their way," she said.
Commuters like Carter have been told to prepare.
“We know it’s coming,” said Carter. “We’re anticipating it.”
For now, he deals with the congestion and the minor disruptions that are part of this area’s growing pains.