MIChessGuy
(Almost) Too Old for Roller Coasters
- Joined
- Dec 16, 2008
- Messages
- 1,313
For people coming southbound on I-75 from Ontario/Michigan/Ohio, you might want to plan ahead for three problems that I encountered yesterday on the way to my overnight stop in GA:
(1) There are lane closures south of the bridge linking Cincinnati, OH and Covington, KY. I observed MAJOR backups on the approach to the bridge in downtown Cincy. On the fly, I decided to exit onto I-71 north, take that to I-471 south which has its own bridge into KY, then pick up I-275 west which reconnects to I-75 beyond the trouble zone. There may be a better detour, but I would say that anything looked better than sitting around in traffic that appeared to be barely moving.
(2) There was a similar backup just after Exit 76 in TN. I got off at that exit, took TN 324 east to U.S. 11, then south on U.S. 11 through the town of Loudon to TN 72, then west on TN 72 which reconnects to I-75. As with Cincy, this to me was much preferable to taking a chance that the highway slowdown wasn't as bad as it looked.
(3) In Atlanta, there were signs warning of *3* lanes closed (!?!) south of downtown. Another sign suggested I-20 as an alternate. Instead, we moved over into the far-left HOV lane which requires two people minimum -- sorry, solo tourists. Using that lane, we actually got past it in a reasonable amount of time, thought the fact that it was Saturday probably helped too. I would not want to see what that part of the freeway looks like on a weekday.
I should point out that I've no idea how long these construction zones will be in effect. For all I know, all three will be gone tomorrow. But my suggestion would be to stay alert for them and have alternate routes ready if you are coming down I-75 to Orlando.
(1) There are lane closures south of the bridge linking Cincinnati, OH and Covington, KY. I observed MAJOR backups on the approach to the bridge in downtown Cincy. On the fly, I decided to exit onto I-71 north, take that to I-471 south which has its own bridge into KY, then pick up I-275 west which reconnects to I-75 beyond the trouble zone. There may be a better detour, but I would say that anything looked better than sitting around in traffic that appeared to be barely moving.
(2) There was a similar backup just after Exit 76 in TN. I got off at that exit, took TN 324 east to U.S. 11, then south on U.S. 11 through the town of Loudon to TN 72, then west on TN 72 which reconnects to I-75. As with Cincy, this to me was much preferable to taking a chance that the highway slowdown wasn't as bad as it looked.
(3) In Atlanta, there were signs warning of *3* lanes closed (!?!) south of downtown. Another sign suggested I-20 as an alternate. Instead, we moved over into the far-left HOV lane which requires two people minimum -- sorry, solo tourists. Using that lane, we actually got past it in a reasonable amount of time, thought the fact that it was Saturday probably helped too. I would not want to see what that part of the freeway looks like on a weekday.
I should point out that I've no idea how long these construction zones will be in effect. For all I know, all three will be gone tomorrow. But my suggestion would be to stay alert for them and have alternate routes ready if you are coming down I-75 to Orlando.
