ATLANTA — President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are expected to make multiple stops around Atlanta Friday as they meet with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as Asian community leaders.
The visit will include a landing in Cobb County and stops in Atlanta and DeKalb based on the itinerary released by the White House Thursday evening.
Why are the president, vice president coming to Atlanta?
President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have two major events planned in Atlanta. The first is a visit to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to get an update from health and medical experts in the fight against COVID-19.
Vice President Harris is the first Asian-American in that role which continues to be a point of celebration and pride for the AAPI community. In light of the recent spa shootings in metro Atlanta that left eight people dead, Biden is also meeting with Asian American leaders in Georgia to discuss threats to the community at Emory University. He will also deliver remarks in the evening.
When will Biden, Harris be in town?
President Biden arrived Dobbins Air Reserve Base just after 1 p.m. Biden will then head to DeKalb Peachtree Airport and the CDC before heading to Emory University.
Vice President Harris is also with the president. She is expected to attend each of the events on Biden's publicly-released schedule.
Both are expected to leave metro Atlanta for Washington between 8 p.m. and 8:30 p.m..
Will the president's visit impact Atlanta traffic?
It's hard to say exactly how the visit will impact motorists in metro Atlanta since the White House does not release possible routes or whether parts of the trip will be made by land or air.
But, given the fact that the president and vice president will both be in town and traveling across parts of Cobb, DeKalb, and Fulton counties, there's reason to believe that there will be some impact on traffic. If the president travels by way of the presidential motorcade for any part of the trip, expect roads to be blocked and heavily secured along the way.
If you're on any major routes in those areas around the time the president and vice president are moving - particularly if they're moving by land - plan for the possibility of an unexpected wait.