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GDOT: Frightful freeways, spooky signals

Metro ATL

GDOT: Frightful freeways, spooky signals

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Atlanta Downtown Connector. Source: Wikimedia commons

Atlanta Downtown Connector. Source: Wikimedia commons

Boo.

There will be more work on local roads this weekend, the Georgia Department of Transportation says. Be afraid. Or at least be cautious.

First order of business: There will be trick-or-treaters out and about tonight. So please slow down and watch out for those babies.

Next: I-20, I-285 and I-75 northbound in Henry and Clayton Counties? Going on those roads this weekend will be like running into a boathouse full of sharp farm equipment in a horror movie, only with less slashing.

Here is the full list of projects, from GDOT:

Planned I-285 work this weekend is as follows:

– Continuous 9 pm, Friday, to 5 am, Monday, closure of two I-285 Outer Loop lanes between Bolton Road and Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway, for concrete slab repair and replacement.

– Sign structure work will require an Outer Loop I-285 double lane closure and an Inner Loop single lane closure between Chamblee Dunwoody Road and Buford Highway, continuously from 9 pm, Friday, until 7 am, Saturday; and

– As part of the rehabilitation of the south side interchange of I-285 and Interstate 85, crews will be re-striping the interchange bridges from 9 pm, Friday until 5 am, Monday.  No lanes will be closed for any appreciable period but traffic will be directed around heavy equipment on the bridges.

This weekend’s schedule for I-20 is:

– Bridge joint and header replacement will require two westbound I-20 lanes be closed downtown between Windsor Street and Lucile Avenue continuously from 9 pm, Friday, until 5 am, Monday.

Other scheduled work includes:

– On Interstate 75 south of the city, two northbound lanes between Hudson Bridge Road/Eagles Landing Parkway and Mount Zion Boulevard will be closed continuously from 9 pm, Friday, until 9 pm, Sunday, for concrete slab replacement.

– On Georgia (State Route) 400, two northbound and two southbound lanes at the Northridge Road Interchange in North Fulton County will be closed from 9 pm, Friday, until 9 pm, Saturday, for bridge work

– One northbound GA 400 lane between Sidney Marcus Boulevard and Wieuca Road will be closed from 7 am, to 8 pm, Saturday and Sunday, for fiber optic cable installation; and

– Work on the Northwest Corridor (NWC) Express Lanes project this weekend will be limited to periodic traffic pacing in the area of westbound I-285 at the Kennedy Interchange and the I-75 ramps there to I-285 and Cobb Parkway and only between Midnight, Sunday, and 3 am, Monday.

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This week GDOT also announced that there will be new traffic signals installed on Northside Parkway.

“The new signals are known as a Four-Section Flashing Yellow Arrow (FYA) traffic lights; they provide an extended period of time for motorists to turn left after yielding to any oncoming traffic,” GDOT says. “Beginning Monday and continuing through the week until work is completed, the signals will be installed and activated at Northside Parkway’s intersection with Beechwood Drive, at the entrance to North Atlanta High School and at the Northside intersection with Northgate Drive.”

The Federal Highway Administration says these signals can reduce left-turn related crashes by as much as 35 percent, GDOT says.

The new signals do come with instructions:

– When solid Red arrow is illuminated, no left turn is allowed

– When solid Yellow arrow is displayed, drivers should prepare to stop as light is about to turn red

– When flashing Yellow arrow is illuminated, drivers may turn left but must yield to pedestrians and oncoming vehicles; and

– When solid Green arrow is displayed, drivers may turn left.

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Also, don’t forget: Thanks to a conspiracy involving farmers, Daylight Savings Time ends this weekend. Remember to set your clocks back one hour on Sunday before crawling under a blanket and staying there until May.

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