ATLANTA — Monday night will bring a major step in the project to overhaul the interchange of Georgia 400 and I-285 as crews begin a paving project that will soon disrupt your weekends.
At 9 p.m., Monday, crews will begin paving the shoulder along a five-mile stretch of I-285. That work will lead to weekend work that will close multiple lanes as crews begin paving the travel lanes.
Michael Chan-Frasier is among the many commuters anxious for the Georgia Department of Transportation to finish a project that has taken the better part of seven years. Construction often disrupts his travels to and from work at Vanda House in Sandy Springs.
“Everyone’s using Google Maps or Waze,” said Chan-Frasier. “Everyone's doing it to avoid construction, so everyone is funneled into a bottleneck.”
For at least the next two months, GDOT crews will work paving I-285 from the Long Island Drive Bridge in Sandy Springs to Ashford Dunwoody Road in DeKalb County.
“Everything is disruptive on the top end,” said GDOT’s Natalie Dale. “A fender bender is disruptive on the top end. When you’re closing multiple lanes for milling and paving, you’re talking about extreme disruption.”
I-285 has taken a beating during the project. Weekday work will involve lane closures overnight. Weekend work will go on day and night, beginning late Friday and ending early Monday.
“We don’t take it lightly that we’re disrupting people’s weekends, but working with the hospitals and the business community, we know how much goes on during the week, and we want to work during those less congested hours,” said Dale.
When crews finish work paving I-285, they’ll then begin paving a large stretch of Georgia 400.