Umm...Traffic in Atlanta??? What am I getting into????

HELP!!! I will be traveling thru Atlanta this Saturday(3/25)on my way to Gatlinburg. ( I will be visiting in Atlanta on my way home ;o) I am traveling with a 6 year old and I have heard that the traffic can take HOURS!!! Please HELP!! If I leave Saturday morning from Lakeland Florida will I get stuck in horrible traffic...Is there a better time to travel thru?? or have I over exaggerated the traffic???????????

All help will have me doing back flips in the living room......Thanks oodles!!!!

Umm...Traffic in Atlanta??? What am I getting into????

Mapquest says it should take me 7 hours to get to Atlanta from here, so if I left here at 7am I should be traveling thru at around 2pm???

Umm...Traffic in Atlanta??? What am I getting into????

You shouldn%26#39;t have too much trouble if you are coming through on Saturday. There is always the possibility of a wreck tying things up but less chance of that on a weekend. Weekdays at rush hours are the times that are bad. Friday afternoon is the worst.

You can listen to 750 AM radio station for traffic reports.

If I were you I%26#39;d come straight up I-75. Don%26#39;t take I-285 around the city unless the traffic report is a major traffic jam on I-75 North.

We always go straight through too instead of taking the Bypass.

Plan on stopping in Macon for lunch if you come up that way. It would make a nice rest stop for you. Get off the Interstate at Riverside Drive.

Most likely you will be fine. But alot of things can play havoc with traffic here. Weekends used to be pretty easy, but now that%26#39;s when they do road construction. I think you can look at the Georgia Dept of Transportation website to see if there is any contruction the day your coming through.

I used to live North of Atlanta in Alpharetta and it took us 4 hours to Gatlinburg from there. Weekends are usually better, but not always. Is that the NCAA regional weekend? If so it might be pretty crazy.

That state transportation website is http://www.dot.state.ga.us/

Check it out (click on traffic conditions)the morning you leave and it will tell you about any scheduled construction. There are graphics that show wherever construction is occuring. There are also real time cameras showing all major routes in and out of Atlanta.

Right now it shows the only construction going on I-75 statewide, is on the southbound side north of the city. It will also show you any incidents or accidents affecting traffic. Right now there is a serious accident on northbound I-75 in Henry county (south of town) involving 3 vehicles and there are injuries.

But as others have said, you probably couldn%26#39;t pick a better day of the week to drive through Atlanta. The weekdays are the real nightmares.

The NCAA regional finals are that day at 4:00 p.m., but I don%26#39;t know how much that will affect traffic. If you stick to schedule and make that suggested lunch break in Macon, you should be coming through town about the time the game starts, so traffic shouldn%26#39;t be a problem in any case. At least you%26#39;re not coming through this weekend because this is the weekend for the Busch Series and Nextel Cup races at Atlanta Motor Speedway south of town and that usually does affect traffic on I-75.

Heavenbound,

I LOVE your name and we all should be heaven-bound, shouldn%26#39;t we??

I live in south GA and when we go to GB/PF, we always take 75 North thru Atlanta, it is usually lots quicker than the by-passes. I assume you will be traveling 75 North, but I am not sure where Lakeland is located. I%26#39;d also suggest stopping in Macon for lunch, but there is a by-pass around Macon, I-475, so depending on whether you take the by-pass or travel 75, I can tell you what restaurants are at each exit. The 75 exit I%26#39;d take would be Arkwright Road/Riverside Drive. That puts you right at Logan%26#39;s Roadhouse, Carrabbas, Cracker Barrell, Cheddars, Hooters, Applebee%26#39;s and also Krystal, Subway, KFC, Taco Bell, if you want fast food. If you come up the by-pass, you%26#39;d need to exit off Zebulon Road exit for the best choice of eating places. They have Buffalo%26#39;s, Fuddruckers, Chic-Fil-A, a mexican restaurant, pizza places, etc. Good luck and safe traveling.