December 22nd, 2021 – 3:30 PM

Georgia Department of Transportation –

To ease the stresses of the holiday season the Georgia Department of Transportation (Georgia DOT) announced today the suspension of construction-related lane closures on heavily traveled interstate highways and state routes near major shopping areas and tourist locations from 5 a.m. Thursday, December 23 to 5 a.m. Monday, December 27 for the Christmas holiday.

The same restrictions are also in place for the New Year’s holiday from 5 a.m. Friday, December 31 to 6 a.m. Sunday, January 2. These statewide lane restrictions allow reduced traffic congestion during the holidays.

While construction-related lane closures will be suspended, the department reminds travelers to exercise caution as crews may still work near highways, and safety concerns may require some long-term lane closures to remain in place.

In addition, incident management or emergency, maintenance-related lane closures could become necessary at any time on any route.

Anticipated traffic volumes for New Year’s 2022:

• Interstates
  • Light to moderate traffic from Wednesday, December 29 through Tuesday, January 4.
  • Boost in congestion on Thursday, December 30. 
  • Light traffic on Friday, December 31 through Sunday, January 2. 
  • Increase in congestion on Monday, January 3 through Tuesday, January 4 as motorists return to typical commutes. 
• Surface Streets
  • Normal to better-than-normal traffic on Wednesday, December 29 through Friday, January 3.
  • Lighter traffic on Saturday, January 1.
  • Heavier travel day on Sunday, January 2 that leads into normal traffic times on Monday, January 3 and Tuesday, January 4. 
• Express Lanes
  • The Northwest Corridor Express Lanes will operate Southbound all day on Sunday, December 26.
  • The Northwest Corridor and South Metro Corridor both will follow normal weekday schedules Monday, December 27 through Friday, December 31.
  • The Northwest Corridor Express Lanes will be adjusted to remain southbound all day from Saturday, January 1 through Sunday, January 2 to accommodate holiday travel.
  • The South Metro Corridor Express Lanes will be adjusted to remain northbound all day from Saturday, January 1 through Sunday, January 2 to accommodate holiday travel.