Commuters passing through Buckhead will have to find another way to get from Northside Drive to Peachtree Street as contractors work to repair an old bridge at the Amtrak Station along Deering Road.
Deering will be closed to non-residential traffic until June, Georgia Department of Transportation spokesman Mark McKinnon said. Work began Jan. 7, he said.
The detour route directs drivers toward Collier Road or 17th Street.
“It’s basically a replacement of that bridge,” McKinnon said. “It used to be a parking lot. We’ve closed it.”
McKinnon said the project budget is $728,000. The estimated completion date is June 30.
Ron Grunwald, a member of the Loring Heights Neighborhood Association, said there haven’t been any major problems so far. Grunwald and other members of surrounding neighborhoods lobbied to make sure the city created detours that would have a minimal impact on residents.
“You know, we were promised some additional signage by the city on the Northside Drive side,” Grunwald said. “However the DOT, they have two electronic changing motion signs. They did not put any on Northside which is probably more critical. The city has asked them to, but GDOT said we’ve only budgeted for two so we’re not doing it.”
Because of the work around the Amtrak Station, GDOT has delayed beginning improvements to Northside Drive. It originally had scheduled both projects to begin around the same time.
District 8 Councilwoman Yolanda Adrean said those improvements, $12.5 million worth of roadway and water line improvements along 2.4 miles of road, will not begin until the spring. Residents worried that the projects could be in conflict and create unanticipated problems.