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Predicted Atlanta Traffic Nightmare a No-Go

The much-anticipated traffic nightmare in Atlanta turned out to be a bit of a dud.

The Georgia Department of Transportation was playing catch-up with multiple construction projects at the same time.

The potential for major problems was definitely there, with construction projects in all different parts of the city. But when it came down to it, the traffic flow wasn’t too bad and GDOT said that was no accident.

If you were driving through Atlanta this weekend, you no doubt saw a lot of orange, but one color that wasn’t seen as much as expected was red, as in red brake lights.

“The report we heard was that all the freeways would be blocked up on 285 and down the connector but I haven’t really seen that at all,” said Peter Gordy.

That wasn’t the case three weeks ago, when GDOT admits it dropped the ball on getting the word out about the construction. GDOT said it learned its lesson and launched an aggressive campaign to get the word out this time, and it looks like it paid off.

“I think people really did hear those warnings. They made alternate routes, made different plans, they stayed home, or they said, ‘Do I really want to get on the roads this weekend with all the construction?'” said GDOT spokesman Natalie Dale.

Gordy said educating the public on the potential delays is crucial.

“I think it’s much better to tell people and let them know that it could be bad because then if it’s not that bad, it’s just a nice relief,” said Gordy.

GDOT also got some help from Mother Nature, which allowed workers to really get down to business.

“We were able to get some of those lane closures pulled early, some of the exit ramps finished early so we got the barrels removed and traffic moved on,” said Dale.

Which is exactly what drivers wanted.

“It’s much nicer this way. For a Sunday afternoon,” said Gordy.

This weekend did allow GDOT to get caught up on some of its little projects, but it’s certainly not done with the construction.

If there’s another busy weekend, Dale said they will attack it the same way they did this weekend, by aggressively getting the word out and working quickly.

 Source: cbsatlanta.com
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