Leave early for appointments, etc. in case you get stuck

The best way to avoid getting tangled up in traffic from the Tour de Georgia bike race Wednesday, April 19 is to know the route and avoid it entirely from about 1 p.m. to 2:30 or so.

But if you must travel in the area at that time, give yourself a little extra head start and be patient, as the 20.2-mile race path will be closed up to 20 minutes ahead of time to make sure the racers and race officials have a clear route.

Also remember that the courthouse square will be closed to eastbound traffic from Hwy. 85 to Jeff Davis Drive starting at 9 a.m. Eastbound vehicles will be allowed to turn right or left onto Ga. Highway 85 (Glynn Street) up until about 1:10 p.m., when the entire intersection of Hwys. 54 and 85 will be shut down so racers and race officials can line up and start the race.

This year’s route will differ slightly from last year. The race will start at the courthouse square downtown again, proceeding south on Ga. Highway 85/Glynn Street until it turns onto Beauregard Boulevard/Redwine Road.

This year, the race will bypass Ebenezer Church Road and continue south on Redwine to the intersection of Bernhard Road and south Peachtree Parkway. The cyclists will then head along Peachtree Parkway and then up Robinson Road, passing Braelinn Elementary School.

At the intersection of Robinson Road and Ga. Highway 54, the race will head east on Hwy. 54 briefly before turning onto Walt Banks Road. The route then turns northbound onto Peachtree Parkway, where it will pass Crabapple Lane Elementary School before turning onto Senoia Road and later left onto Castlewood Drive, passing by Tyrone Elementary and exiting into Coweta County.

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