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jhfxrtleeh1's avatar
jhfxrtleeh1
Explorer
Mar 30, 2017

I85 in Atlanta Blocked

Just a heads-up. I85 - all lanes - is blocked near Bankhead (Atlanta area) due to a fire and bridge collapse.

It just happened (just after 7 pm EDT) so there should be updates later today and tomorrow.

7 Replies

  • afidel wrote:
    rwess wrote:
    I-85 north is now closed where it splits off the downtown connector and all northbound traffic is routed on I-75 north. I-85 south did not collapse, but is closed for inspection. I believe all southbound traffic is diverted onto GA 400 North.

    Atlanta traffic has always been bad. Now it will be impossible. The mayor said that this is the worst possible traffic situation.

    Avoid Atlanta at all cost. All of the other major roads (I-75, I-20, I-285 will have to absorb this tremendous amount of additional traffic. It will be like a traffic armageddon, even on the weekends.

    If traveling thru Atlanta north to south, or vice versa, use US-27 instead.

    This may finally force Atlanta to accept mass transit.


    Not if they're smart, throw $10-15M at a contractor to hit an early completing date, California replaced a similar sized chunk of interstate a few years ago in just over 30 days by giving the contractor a $10M bonus for early completion. There's no way you could get 400k daily riders worth of mass transit for that kind of money.

    However you could look to the future and accept that the current highway systems have reached the saturation point in that area. No amount of highway infrastructure maintenance will change that reality.
  • rwess wrote:
    I-85 north is now closed where it splits off the downtown connector and all northbound traffic is routed on I-75 north. I-85 south did not collapse, but is closed for inspection. I believe all southbound traffic is diverted onto GA 400 North.

    Atlanta traffic has always been bad. Now it will be impossible. The mayor said that this is the worst possible traffic situation.

    Avoid Atlanta at all cost. All of the other major roads (I-75, I-20, I-285 will have to absorb this tremendous amount of additional traffic. It will be like a traffic armageddon, even on the weekends.

    If traveling thru Atlanta north to south, or vice versa, use US-27 instead.

    This may finally force Atlanta to accept mass transit.


    Not if they're smart, throw $10-15M at a contractor to hit an early completing date, California replaced a similar sized chunk of interstate a few years ago in just over 30 days by giving the contractor a $10M bonus for early completion. There's no way you could get 400k daily riders worth of mass transit for that kind of money.
  • I-85 is closed in the Buckhead area - NOT Bankhead.

    Both northbound and southbound are affected and will be closed indefinitely.

    85 north is closed at the I-75 interchange - you will have to take 75 north at that point.

    85 south is closed at North Druid Hills. Go any further and you'll be redirected to 400 north.

    400 south (which feeds in to 85 south of North Druid Hills) is closed at Sydney Marcus Blvd - you will have to exit there.
  • ADAD437 wrote:
    exactly where is it blocked? i will be traveling the section from i-285 to gainesville sunday morning.
    You should be fine I285 and I85. Closed inside 285 perimeter.
  • I-85 north is now closed where it splits off the downtown connector and all northbound traffic is routed on I-75 north. I-85 south did not collapse, but is closed for inspection. I believe all southbound traffic is diverted onto GA 400 North.

    Atlanta traffic has always been bad. Now it will be impossible. The mayor said that this is the worst possible traffic situation.

    Avoid Atlanta at all cost. All of the other major roads (I-75, I-20, I-285 will have to absorb this tremendous amount of additional traffic. It will be like a traffic armageddon, even on the weekends.

    If traveling thru Atlanta north to south, or vice versa, use US-27 instead.

    This may finally force Atlanta to accept mass transit.
  • exactly where is it blocked? i will be traveling the section from i-285 to gainesville sunday morning.