Motorists in Fayette County are in for another day of detours, as the southbound lanes of Highway 85 over Morning Creek Bridge remain shut down for repairs. The Fayette County Sheriff's Office has advised that while crews ply their trade on the bridge, traffic will be squeezing through using the inside shoulder to get by, per an update shared on social media. These repairs are slated to go on at least until today keeping commuters on their toes as they navigate the bottleneck.
Inconvenience struck Friday afternoon when damage to the bridge prompted an emergency closure. The sheriff's office initially announced that the closure was set to last through Saturday afternoon, yet, in a turn of good fortune, one lane was reopened later that evening, according to FOX 5 Atlanta. With the Georgia Department of Transportation moving quickly to install barriers around the afflicted area, the one-lane allowance has offered a temporary reprieve to what could have been a grimmer travel landscape.
Despite this partial reopening, the Fayette County Sheriff's Office is orchestrating traffic to the inside shoulder, and they are assuring the public that teams are working relentlessly to restore full access to the highway. On the brighter side, the northbound lanes are not impacted and flow continues uninterrupted for travelers heading in that direction. The expedited labor on the southbound route underscores the efforts being made to minimize the disruption to daily commutes and local traffic.
As construction lingers and with an alternative route becoming a necessity, 11Alive's traffic expert, Crash Clark has suggested Highway 314, West Fayetteville Road, between Kenwood and Fayetteville as a viable detour, as 11Alive reports. Motorists looking to sidestep the work zone are encouraged to use this advised pathway, avoiding the morning or evening rush until the bridge is declared fit for the hustle and, bustle of its usual traffic.
