Let The Games Begin!
This entry was posted on 4/12/2008 7:06 PM and is filed under uncategorized.
This Saturday morning, for the first time since 1996, the games have begun again in Atlanta... but this time, it's not the Olympics.
Just after 9 AM, on I-75/85 between University Avenue and 10th Street, the repavement of this stretch of heavily-traveled Georgia Interstate had begun... and already drivers are playing the "beep and creep" game.
According to the Georgia DOT, the repaving activity will be done only on weekends from 9 AM Saturdays until 5 AM Mondays.
The work should be completed in November, so if you can avoid I-75/85 on the weekends, then please do. I know I will.
In 1996, GDOT last repaved I-75/85 in preparation for the Olympic games. Now that 12 years has passed (the road surface's lifespan), it is time to do it again.
Considering the crappy stretch of Interstate I've driven on in Alabama (I-20 near Anniston) and strecthes of pockmarked pavement on I-75 in North Florida, I think it's good that this work is being done. Atlanta's roads may be clogged and congested too often, but IMHO, at least we are blessed with high-quality state-maintained routes throughout the state. As long as GDOT uses our taxpayer dollars in constructive ways such as this, I'd be willing to put up with some degree of delay on the weekend. Coming from an IT background, I can say that maintenance activities can be mundane, but if you think about the "long haul", the old cliche of "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" definitely applies to roads as well as computers and other infrastructure items.
That's it for now. Thanks for reading and please come back often.
SOURCE:
"Closing, roadwork begin on Downtown Connector", Atlanta Journal-Constitution Metro Section, 4/12/2008.
