GDOT Suspends Lane Closures For Thanksgiving Holiday

While it can’t help you find the perfect parking spot at your favorite shopping destination, the Georgia Department of Transportation says it can make it easier for you to get there by suspending construction-related lane closures on roads near major shopping centers, malls or districts during the Thanksgiving holiday.

This roadway reprieve will go into effect 5 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 25 and will run through 10 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 29 on interstates, major state routes or roads near major shopping areas.

Similar restrictions will be in place for Christmas and New Year’s, the agency said.

Like watching Thanksgiving Day parades and football games, minimizing lane closures for projects under construction is a GDOT holiday tradition implemented to offset increased holiday traffic.

This does not include emergency lane closures that may be necessary, however.

GDOT reminds travelers that crews may still be working in proximity to highways and state routes; and safety concerns may require some long-term lane closures to remain in place. Also, incident management or emergency, maintenance-related lane closures could become necessary at any time on any route.

“We typically see an increase in roadway fatalities during heavy travel holidays,” said Marc Mastronardi, state construction engineer. “We cannot overemphasize the need to slow down, drive alert and take every precaution to protect yourself and your passengers.”

For updated information about travel conditions on Georgia’s interstates and state routes, you can call 511 or visit www.511ga.org before heading out.

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