Roads in North Georgia are an icy mess. Traffic jams in Atlanta are making the news around the world. A baby was born last night on I-285; stranded mother and child are reported to be doing well. One lady who was on her way home from a hospital stay was trapped in bumper-to-bumper traffic. A blind, handicapped gentleman with diabetes spent 18 hours in a van with other disabled individuals. My granddaughter didn’t get home from school until 2:30 AM, when she was rescued by her uncle in a four-wheel-drive vehicle.
Please stay home today. We don’t want to write about your horror story tomorrow.
Georgia DOT urges motorists to stay off the roadways. Hazardous driving conditions continue throughout northeast Georgia, especially the Mountain Counties of Habersham, Lumpkin, Rabun, Towns, Union and White.
Traffic hampered Georgia DOT crews from treating the roads and clearing incidents; the Department brought additional crews from other less-impacted areas of the state to Metro and activated private contractors to help catch up. While isolated icy areas remain this morning, Department officials are hopeful minimal traffic Wednesday will allow for a full recovery.
Crews are working throughout Northeast Georgia. These following locations are hazardous, icing has been reported and crews are working in these counties:
- Barrow SR 82 and SR 81
- Dawson SR 183, SR 136 and SR 53 especially in higher elevations
- Forsyth Bridges on SR 9, SR 20 and SR 369
- Gwinnett SR 20, SR 141, SR 316 especially bridges and I-85 south exit ramp to SR 141/Jimmy Carter Blvd and I-85 Collector Distributor ramps Pleasant Hill Road (Exit 105) to Old Peachtree Road (Exit 109)
- Habersham and Stephens SR 17 Alt. at Water Works Hill
- Hall SR 60/Thompson Bridge Rd at SR 136, SR 369 bridges and SR 365 bridges
- Jackson SR 334 and SR 336
- Lumpkin SR 9, SR 52 and SR 60
- Rabun SR 2/US 76 and SR 15/US 441, SR 28 and SR 197
- Towns SR 2/SR 515, SR 66, SR 75
- Union SR 180, SR 11/US 129 and SR 2/US 76
- Walton SR 81
- White SR 11, SR 115, SR 75 and SR 356
Motorists are urged to:
- Check weather conditions before you leaving and stay off the roads unless it is an emergency. Choose caution and stay where you are instead of driving in hazardous winter weather conditions today.
- Slow down and stay behind the snowplows. The road behind the plow will be the safest place to drive. Allow at least ten car lengths between your vehicle and snowplows or hopper spreaders.
- Do not pass. The plows are wide, and sometimes a group of trucks will work in tandem to clear snow quickly, especially on major highways. Trucks spray salt and gravel – your vehicle will get damaged if you pull alongside trucks while they spread material on the roadway.
- Be particularly aware of black ice conditions on surfaces such as bridge decks and entrance and exit ramps.
- Remember that technology helps, but only to a point. Four-wheel drive, anti-lock brakes and traction control are beneficial advancements in today’s cars, trucks and SUVs, but they can’t take the place of good driving habits and the need to reduce speed on snowy or icy roads.
Georgia DOT urges travelers to exercise caution and call 511 for updated information on roadway conditions before getting on the road during a winter weather event. Georgia 511 is a free phone service that provides real-time traffic and travel information statewide, including winter weather closures, reports of icing or other hazardous conditions on interstates and state routes. Callers also can transfer to operators to request assistance or report incidents 24 hours a day, seven days a week. More information is available at www.511ga.org.
