I drove through Atlanta on a Friday at 3pm

[Laz]

All I have to say is: DON'T DO IT! What a mess! There is construction Downtown and the area where the bypass rejoins I-75 is a real log jam in both directions.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

Ugh. That must have been horrible.

Fridays are the worst because everyone's trying to leave work early to enjoy their weekend. Even the side streets are horrible.

I hate Atlanta traffic. I used to live in town and when we moved to Gwinnett County, I was in traffic shock.

 

[JanB]

.

 

[JanB]

Driving through downtown Atlanta is, at best, questionable on ANY weekday from about 3PM until about about 7PM. On Fridays, that timeframe will expand.

We are in Gwinnett (northeast side of town, out I85). Whenever we want to drive through downtown, we always check this website.
Georgia Navigator
It will warn you of any incidents/accidents that are affecting traffic. You can also click on NEWS to find out about any planned construction.

If you have access to the internet on your cellphone, then you can use this website as you are approaching Atlanta to help decide whether to drive directly through downtown Atlanta or whether to drive around on the perimeter (I285).

If you plan to drive through down town Atlanta on I75/I85 ANY day after 3PM, it will, at best, be congested traffic-wise. You should be comfortable driving in very heavy traffic. If you have any concerns about doing that, then you should take I285 around the city. There are crazy drivers on both routes, but the downtown route is a bit more nerve-wracking (in my opinion) primarily because the lanes are a bit narrower through downtown.

Basically -- you can NOT look at the mileage through downtown Atlanta, and estimate your driving time accordingly. If you are driving through Atlanta, just be alert, try not to get too tense, and take any traffic delays in stride. Don't have any preconceived notions concerning how long it will take to get through the city. I would suggest that you tune in to AM750 for traffic reports.

If you can get from I75 or I85 on the top end of the perimeter (I285) to
I75/I85 on the bottom end of the perimeter within about 30 minutes driving time, then you've done pretty good.

 

[P.I. Squirrel]

Generally speaking, Atlanta is safe to drive through between 6pm and 6am. Anything outside of that time frame is up in the air, sometimes not so bad, but one stall or accident and it's TOAST!

Even on weekends, there are area to stay away from. Usually, downtown is okay, but once you get to the south side, I75 gets terrible for about 5 miles, ending at exit 221, no cause, just mystery jam. It can take a good hour to 90 minutes to get that 5 miles. Watch the Georgia Navigator site for traffic, and keep Hwy 41 or 155 as alternates. GPS can be a miracle sometimes.

 

[rae662000]

Generally speaking, Atlanta is safe to drive through between 6pm and 6am. Anything outside of that time frame is up in the air, sometimes not so bad, but one stall or accident and it's TOAST!

Even on weekends, there are area to stay away from. Usually, downtown is okay, but once you get to the south side, I75 gets terrible for about 5 miles, ending at exit 221, no cause, just mystery jam. It can take a good hour to 90 minutes to get that 5 miles. Watch the Georgia Navigator site for traffic, and keep Hwy 41 or 155 as alternates. GPS can be a miracle sometimes.

Yep, just about summed it up well...I live south of Atlanta and I-75 is a pain all the time..I mostly go back roads and often see many out-of-town license plates coming thru. Best thing to do is try to time your travel on it around 10-2pm or 7pm-6am. We have been in school in my county for a week and now that the other local counties are in school anything 3-6pm will be a

Just remember to they will still be paving downtown on the weekends and will close down many lanes. The news warns us to stay away if all possible, so you know it will be bad

 

[bumbershoot]

Don't go through Atlanta at that time on any day, construction or not!


That said, last time I was in Atlanta was as they were preparing for the Olympics, and it was just a madhouse all the time.

 

[disnut8]

The area downtown that is under construction will be under construction for the rest of the summer. And the I675/I75 interchange is horrible when coming down I75.

For this reason, you should really think about taking I285 around the city. You will not go through downtown at all and even though getting onto I75 at I675 is still a challenge, it's MUCH better than being on I75.

We come down I85 from our house all the time and at first we just decided at the last minute which way to go. After sitting through that crap at I675 while on I75, we now always take I285 to I675. Much easier for us.

 

[cbsnyber1]

My morning commute - small town in PA - is 1.5 miles, takes about five minutes, but only if I drive the 25 MPH speed limit. How do you folks in the big city put up with that every day?

 

[wdwmom0f3]

Oh how this thread scares me. We will be staying in Villa Rica Georgia with my inlaws the night before we leave for Disney. I had planned on leaving that Friday morning at 6:00am. Should I make it earlier than that? DH is going to kill me.

 

[JoliBug]

LOL, we drove through on our way from VA to LA in Feb and it was horrible. I think it was 8 or 9 at night, but it was dark and thunderstorming and I was driving a 22ft Uhaul with a car trailer on the back. Never EVER doing that again.

 

[mousesweetie]

Oh how this thread scares me. We will be staying in Villa Rica Georgia with my inlaws the night before we leave for Disney. I had planned on leaving that Friday morning at 6:00am. Should I make it earlier than that? DH is going to kill me.

One word ::: YES!!

 

[P.I. Squirrel]

Oh how this thread scares me. We will be staying in Villa Rica Georgia with my inlaws the night before we leave for Disney. I had planned on leaving that Friday morning at 6:00am. Should I make it earlier than that? DH is going to kill me.

The drive from west of ATL on I-20 is not the worst, but as I said in a previous post, it only takes one accident. It should take you roughly 30 minutes at speed limit to get from Villa Rica to 285 South. You will hit a slowdown as you approach the 285 ramp, then off and on thick traffic until you get past I85, then almost no traffic onto I75 and south. At that point, traffic is flowing in the opposite direction. If you leave exactly at 6, you should be okay, but not a minute later. I might even move departure to 5:30am. 5am would be overkill.

 

[wdwmom0f3]

The drive from west of ATL on I-20 is not the worst, but as I said in a previous post, it only takes one accident. It should take you roughly 30 minutes at speed limit to get from Villa Rica to 285 South. You will hit a slowdown as you approach the 285 ramp, then off and on thick traffic until you get past I85, then almost no traffic onto I75 and south. At that point, traffic is flowing in the opposite direction. If you leave exactly at 6, you should be okay, but not a minute later. I might even move departure to 5:30am. 5am would be overkill.

Thank you so much for the heads up. We will now be leaving at 5:30.