D'town Connector Resurfacing

Published April 13, 2010 at 8:38 a.m.

(WSB Traffic Center) -- Despite weekend plans that include Braves baseball at Turner Field, a Hawks playoff game at Philips Arena, the Dogwood Festival at Piedmont Park and a series events associated with a renewed Freaknic in Atlanta, the Georgia Department of Transporation plans to close a stretch of the downtown connector for resurfacing.

DOT Spokesperson Crystal Paulk-Buchanan tell Channel 2 Action News that plans are to close the stretch of interstate from 10th Street to the Brookwood split for the next three weekends to add a top coat layer to keep the freeway from freezing over in winter.

"Every weekend we were going to do it," she said, "but it kept raining and raining and then it got too cold."

While there is no guarantee that the top coat would have prevented the icing that forced temporary closure of the highway back in February, the contractor will now be able to slice thin, horizontal grooves in the exposed middle layer of the connector to make sure the problem doesn't resurface next winter.

The DOT plans to post official word of the interstate closures later this week. So far now word on whether the full weekend of activity will force the DOT to alter their plans.

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