Any strategies for driving through Atlanta?

[kerri0616]

Hi All!

I hope this is the right board. I see lots of posts about airfares, but mine is a driving question.

We drive on most of our trips and the most dreaded portion of our drive is ATLANTA! So much traffic regardless of time or day of the week!!!

Our AAA Triptik sends us around Atlanta on 275, but we still end up getting in traffic at a standstill. I've studied maps and atlases and I don't see a good way to completely avoid Atlanta. We'll be coming through Tennessee and then heading south on 75.

Anyone have a better route? Since we'll be driving on a Friday this year I'm really trying to get us up early enough that we get to Atl no later than 3pm. It will still be awful!

Thanks!

Kerri

 

[LadyBeBop]

I'm assuming there will be more than one in the car.

Last triip to Disney, we went through Atlanta on a Friday afternoon, just before 3 PM. Just stay on I-75 in the far left (carpool) lane. You'll probably be fine.

If you have Sirius or XM radio, you can check the Atlanta traffic station for updates, just in case.

 

[YanksWinAgain]

I used to travel to Atlanta and come home on Fridays (to the airport). I was north of the city and went south to the airport. Get there before 3pm if at all possible. The only other way is to take 285 ("the perimeter") off 75 and then pick up 75 again, but you are not really saving a lot. It is a roll of the dice either way.

Good luck...

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

Pile all your sleepy heads in ther car early so you can pass through by 3pm.

You can tune to AM 750 for frequent traffic updates in case you have to make a choice about going through town or going around.

If you can make it through by 3pm you may hit WDW at about 10-11pm.

Visit our local TV/Radio websites to make sure there is not a "perfect storm" of events occurring on the day of your trip.

Festivals, conventions, and ball games etc don't mix well downtown.

 

[heatherwillmom]

We come through Atlanta later in the evening. We usually take 275. My DD was on a dance team that had a competition in Atlanta on Thanksgiving week-end. I had to drive into Atlanta the day after Thanksgiving. The hotel was downtown. That was such a fun drive on the Friday after Thanksgiving at about 5 pm.

 

[DVC4US]

Pile all your sleepy heads in ther car early so you can pass through by 3pm.

You can tune to AM 750 for frequent traffic updates in case you have to make a choice about going through town or going around.

If you can make it through by 3pm you may hit WDW at about 10-11pm.

Visit our local TV/Radio websites to make sure there is not a "perfect storm" of events occurring on the day of your trip.

Festivals, conventions, and ball games etc don't mix well downtown.

Can you use the carpool lanes with 2 people in the car, and about what time does rush hour traffic clear on Friday mornings?

DD and I will be leaving Iowa on the 22nd and since I am a solo driver I don't think I can make the 14 hour drive to Atlanta in one day. I am planning on stopping somewhere between Chattanooga and Atlanta on the 22nd and then completing the drive to Orlando on the 23rd. I'm just trying to figure out what might be a good time to hit Atlanta and should I take 75 through downtown or take the 285 around?

Thanks for your help!

 

[Rupert B Puppenstein]

I would just try to stick to 75 the entire way. I have no idea why people are typing 275 - maybe they mean 285? I have lived here for six years and have never heard of 275 going through Atlanta. It all depends on what day you are driving. If you are driving down on a Friday you will be miserable if you aren't driving super early in the morning (like before 5 a.m.) because the rest of the day is insane. The worst traffic is always in the afternoons after 3 p.m. so if you can get through the city before then, you should be good. If you have a smart phone, I would plug in georgia-navigator.com as it gives up to date traffic. Or, if you have a Garmin GPS, mine has the traffic feature to let me know where the delays are. I-285 and I-20 are the accident magnets so I steer clear of them as much as possible.

Good Luck!!

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

It's HOV-2 24 hours a day.

 

[taylor3297]

Use the HOV Lanes and go through Atlanta on 75 and avoid 285. I used to live in the area and always found even in the worst of rush hour, I always made my destination more quickly going through town and not around.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Everytime my family and I drive down along Interstate 75 we always go through Atlanta and have never had any problems. However we always get there after 10:00 AM and it's always on a Sunday, so maybe that's why.

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

The difference between Sunday and Friday daytime traffic is substantial.

The travel situation is also impacted by what time of the year you are traveling (summer vs winter/holiday vs non holiday)

 

[P.I. Squirrel]

I drive through downtown Atlanta every day. The HOV lane is the best bet. If you come through Atlanta between 9am and 3pm you'll generally be okay. You will hit about a five minute backup at worst around downtown, in an area known as the "Grady curve". This is due to people slowing to exit on interstate 20. Again, being in the HOV lane minimizes this delay. Be sure you get through southside 75 (mile markers 230 through 218) before 3:30. After that, it's a thirty minute delay.

 

[DVC4US]

Thanks for the replies everyone! So if I plan to hit Atlanta around 9am on Friday I should miss the majority of the morning rush hour. I'll take everyone's advice and stay in the HOV lanes on I-75 and stay away from I-285. I may have gotten use to my Iowa small town traffic, but I've lived in So. California so I know all about rush hour traffic and want to avoid that at much as possible.

 

[Angry Eyes]

OK well at least I didn't know it and we drive this way a lot. In June we were hitting Atlanta in rush hour traffic as our schedule would not allow us to avoid it. I had the very same question you had; 285 around the loop or stay the course in the HOV lanes on I75. I dialed the 511 system which is usually at least 22 minutes of agony to try and get timely info about your route. So I was in automated pergatory when my DS yells something up from the back of the minivan (not an uncommon occurence) when all of a sudden a live, warm body pops up on the other end of the phone!! I asked the gentleman on the other end of the line what I had done to receive such a gift and he said, "If the system perceives shouting or screaming it routes you to a live person!" Well he was a bonafide miracle and a wealth of information and I was so appreciative for my 8 year-old's lack of volume control. I am not recommending that this information be abused but there are times when you really need a person on the other end of the line, so please use this knowledge for good and not evil and have a fantastic trip!

 

[Rupert B Puppenstein]

Thanks for the replies everyone! So if I plan to hit Atlanta around 9am on Friday I should miss the majority of the morning rush hour. I'll take everyone's advice and stay in the HOV lanes on I-75 and stay away from I-285. I may have gotten use to my Iowa small town traffic, but I've lived in So. California so I know all about rush hour traffic and want to avoid that at much as possible.

You will be just hitting the top of the morning rush hour traffic at that time. So, if you can get to Atlanta just a little bit earlier (like an hour if at all possible) it will be a lot better for you. Then, you will love Atlanta! Stay to the left (the HOV lanes don't start until you get into Atlanta) and just pay attention to the signs on I-75 as they can be confusing. Especially when you get into downtown. Sending good no traffic vibes your way!

 

[ShhhQ]

I had this exact same question on our 1st trip down in 2007.... We ended up taking 75 and it was the best way to go. We had stopped at the welcome center and asked for some advice on where to stop for lunch (we knew what restaurant, just wanted to know which exit to find one), the lady there was more than helpful... giving us several exits to choose from, but even better advice. She told us that we needed to make it thru Atlanta BEFORE 3pm to avoid the worst traffic, so we took her advice in total... we continued on 75 thru Atlanta and then stopped for lunch after so we would be definate to be thru by 3pm. We followed that same advice the next year... worked great!

Atlanta is the scariest part of our whole trip but it was more than managable. Last year, we took a trip to Branson instead.... I found the traffic of St. Louis to be even scarier than Atlanta... so if you can handle that, Atlanta should be no problem.

 

[kerri0616]

Thank you for the kind replies. I apologize for mislabeling Hwy 285.

Looks like I just need to get the family out of bed really early and plan to eat lunch in the car! Then we'll stay in the carpool lane and stay the course on 75!

Kerri

 

[DVC4US]

You will be just hitting the top of the morning rush hour traffic at that time. So, if you can get to Atlanta just a little bit earlier (like an hour if at all possible) it will be a lot better for you. Then, you will love Atlanta! Stay to the left (the HOV lanes don't start until you get into Atlanta) and just pay attention to the signs on I-75 as they can be confusing. Especially when you get into downtown. Sending good no traffic vibes your way!

Thanks for the info Shelby. So 9am is the height of rush hour in Atlanta? Most places I have lived or driven through rush hour runs from about 6-9am. I can plan to hit Atlanta around 8am if I need too, I just thought giving it another hour would clear out the worst of it.

 

[MOmousefan]

We drive through Atlanta coming from St louis ( we live at the Lake of the Ozarks), and have had great luck using I75. I tried I285 once and it was bumper-to-bumper being Memorial Day week-end. I have also driven on I75 at noon on Saturday and the traffic was managable. I285 also looks to be a longer route. Have a good trip.

 

[dzorn]

We have driven various days and times and never had a problem. HOV lane

Denise in MI