GDOT To Suspend Lane Closures

Georgia Department of Transportation will suspend all scheduled and ongoing construction-related lane closures in northwest Georgia for the holiday travel period.

Suspensions are set to begin at 5 a.m. Friday and continue through 5 a.m. Tuesday, according to an agency news release.  

With Christmas Day this year falling on Sunday, GDOT officials anticipate more travelers than usual during the holiday week and weekend. Motorists should throughout the week.

“We anticipate heavy traffic throughout the metro Atlanta area beginning early Friday morning,” Commissioner Keith Golden said in the release. “Mall and retail center traffic will be particularly congested. Additionally, many travelers will be returning home over the weekend.”

Even with construction called off, roads and highways could become congested, said Kent Sager, district engineer at .

“Emergency maintenance work in the case of traffic accidents and other unpredictable types of transportation incidents could still cause lane closures and/or delays," Sager said. “We know that a lot of people will be hitting the road for the holidays, and we would like to make it a little easier for them to go through northwest Georgia.”

For real-time traffic updates, visit the department's new Georgia Navigator at http://www.511ga.org/realtimetraffic.html.

In the case of severe weather, motorists can follow GDOT on Twitter for traffic updates and "like" its Facebook page for the latest information. The department recently began to distribute severe weather traffic updates, in addition to traditional methods—radio, TV and newspapers.