Community Forums

skitcharoo · 01-21-2021, 05:13 PM

I will be driving southbound thru Atlanta on Sunday, January 31st. With all of the road construction in the Atlanta area is there anything in particular I should watch out for? With the lane shifts just North of downtown Atlanta I am concerned about being able to change lanes quick enough to make it thru the Atlanta traffic with a 38 foot motorhome towing a full size pick-up truck. I anticipate going thru Atlanta between noon and 1:30 PM.

dfuelman · 01-21-2021, 05:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skitcharoo

I will be driving southbound thru Atlanta on Sunday, January 31st. With all of the road construction in the Atlanta area is there anything in particular I should watch out for? With the lane shifts just North of downtown Atlanta I am concerned about being able to change lanes quick enough to make it thru the Atlanta traffic with a 38 foot motorhome towing a full size pick-up truck. I anticipate going thru Atlanta between noon and 1:30 PM.

Pack patience and protection. Atlanta is not a nice place to travel through.

MSHappyCampers · 01-21-2021, 05:57 PM

I would plan to bypass Atlanta if at all possible, even if it means traveling many miles out of the way!

wildtoad · 01-21-2021, 06:12 PM

Stay away from rush times, plan ahead to be in the correct lanes, don’t be afraid to NOT go with the flow. Been thru Atlanta many times with no issues.

ga traveler · 01-21-2021, 06:15 PM

Sunday is the right time. There is never light traffic. There is lighter traffic. You are legal to use the HOV lane if you are not by yourself. Get in the HOV lane and stay there. That lane is rarely blocked.

mike625 · 01-21-2021, 06:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wildtoad

Stay away from rush times, plan ahead to be in the correct lanes, don’t be afraid to NOT go with the flow. Been thru Atlanta many times with no issues.

+1 We went thru around 2 pm on 12/26 Saturday - just a lane one or two from the right and keep an eye out for someone cutting in front. Was not that bad - we did get stuck in holiday traffic just south of town for about 30 mins.

chuckftboy · 01-21-2021, 06:37 PM

Atlanta is one of my most un-favorite cities to travel through. If I had to choose a day, Sunday would be it but much earlier than noon. between 6 and 9 am preferably. I have been through the city between 2 and 4 am several times and traffic is good then. Not much chance that you can keep any distance between you and the vehicle in front because if there is more than a car length, someone will cut right in front of you.

I'm also one of those people who will generally drive around Atlanta even if it adds miles to my trip but when I go through the city, I don't hesitate when changing lanes. If you need to get over, hit the turn signal and do it. If you hesitate, you will find a car right there next to you.
Chuck

RichardE · 01-21-2021, 07:05 PM

You didn't say which interstate you would be traveling. If I 75, I much prefer going THROUGH town than taking I 285 around. Yes the lanes are bit tight, but as someone has stated earlier, get in the HOV lane, and stay there.

I 75 is always congested where 575 comes in, so be prepared.

I 285 is pretty broken up in places, and the traffic is even faster than in town.

I go through about four times a year in a 45ft towing a car.

HOV lane and early Sunday morning is the best is my opinion.

WyoFree · 01-21-2021, 07:18 PM

Atlant is a city I give a wide birth, along with cities like St Louis and Kansas City to mention a couple. I was reading something from an RVer talking about driving around all major cities. Mapping themselves around them so they were totally unaffected by BIG city problems. The article said it didn't add all that much time with much less chance of traffic related holdups. Also talked about how terrific the Mom and Pop restaurants were and some of the neat things they saw.

Not many places worse than Atalnta and that's for sure and man don't get off on the wrong exit and that's for sure.

NXR · 01-21-2021, 08:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wildtoad

Stay away from rush times, plan ahead to be in the correct lanes, don’t be afraid to NOT go with the flow. Been thru Atlanta many times with no issues.

We've done it the same time of day as the OP plans but not on a Sunday and I agree with the quoted text. 38' motorhome and 60' total with the car. No big deal but down to 20 MPH in some curves. Straight through on I-75.

Best advice I can give is to never be in the far right lane. Not only is there a lot of traffic entering and exiting, that lane seems to turn into an "EXIT ONLY" lane multiple times. So yes, you'll need to shift left a few times as the right-hand lane disappears.

I think the I-75 lanes are only 11' wide instead of the usual 12' because someone wrote that they narrowed them up to add another lane many years ago.

No commercial trucks are allowed to use I-75 unless they're getting off in Atlanta, so they use the bypass.

We've never used the HOV lanes because we saw signs prohibiting vehicles with more than six wheels and the towed car would put us over that limit. I have no idea how the cops would count wheels so we're just not going to give them the chance...

Well, actually the best advice I can give is to drive through Atlanta during a pandemic lockdown. On the way north in late March 2020 it truly was a speed limit trip all the way through Atlanta in the middle of the day on a weekday.

Ray

MarvinG · 01-21-2021, 09:56 PM

I go through Atlanta several times a year, 35’ towing my Ford Ranger, to visit our daughters on the south side. I find my GPS combined with google maps on my phone give me enough warning to get in the correct lane in time. I turn the volume on the GPS up as I approach Atlanta. The spoken directions are a BIG help get me in the correct lane in time. I heartily endorse staying out of the right lane, especially driving straight through, it is constantly ending in an exit. And I agree, to shift lanes, turn on your blinker and when you are sure you have a slot open. Take it. Also, don’t head down through the center of town with marginal fuel left in your tank. You’ll have a time getting off, into, out, and back on to the I-state.

Straight through is indeed the smoothest road, it is tight, width-wise, but doable. I’ve been on 285 at times when it was so broken up I was surprised I didn’t break something when I hit unforeseen bumps. However the last time, I did take I-285 and found it surprisingly smooth. If you fail to avoid rush hours, you will need a lot of patience.

hohenwald48 · 01-22-2021, 04:59 AM

I was told that anything towing anything was prohibited from the HOV lane. Is that not true?

PanJH · 01-22-2021, 05:52 AM

Last time I went thru Atlanta is was a Sunday morning. Traffic was still pretty heavy. In the road was some metal debris, traffic to both sides of me so I slowed down as much as could and hit it. At the next exit I decided to get off and check for damage to the MH or toad. At the bottom of the exit ramp, the brakes were not stopping us. Down shifted and got on the shoulder and coasted to a stop. Then road debris had popped up and broke a brake line. No other damage to the MH or toad. That was the last time I went thru Atlanta.... probably 10 yrs ago. I now use alternate routes.

armullis · 01-22-2021, 05:59 AM

My experience driving through Atlanta on any day is to always anticipate delays, use the I-285 bypass around Atlanta and do not use I-75 through downtown Atlanta. Road construction is just a fact of life!