Road work to clog I-85

Anyone traveling southbound on I-85 south of I-285 on weekends has seen the road construction and probably gotten stuck in it. Those sticky times will not end until fall.

What began in summer 2004 as a project to reconstruct I-85’s two outside lanes and patch the expressway’s two inside lanes along the northbound and southbound sides of I-85 is expected to be completed by fall, according to Georgia Department of Transportation representative Karlene Barron. The project covers the seven-mile stretch of I-85 from I-285 to Ga. Highway 74.

As for current construction, the two outside lanes of I-85 from Buffington Road to Flat Shoals Road will be closed beginning at 9 p.m. Friday and remain closed through 5 a.m. Monday, Barron said. Closure of the exit will also occur during the same time the following weekend. Work in the same location will force the closure of the two outside lanes March 8, from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. and again March 9, from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m.

Once completed, the two outside lanes north and southbound will have been rebuilt with needed patchwork completed on the inside lanes. Except for minor work on the northbound side, the majority of work has been on the southbound lanes. Since the project’s inception, the work has been performed primarily on weekends and some weekday nights, she said.

Barron said DOT set up a temporary concrete plant at the Flat Shoals exit during the construction phase. Having the plant in close proximity is designed to cut down on the number of trucks and the travel time required to deliver loads of concrete, she said.


		Friday, Feb. 25, 2005