Motorists on the Downtown Connector in Atlanta were met with an unexpected obstacle this past Tuesday evening, when heavy winds carried a whimsical yet hazardous cargo onto the roadway: inflatable slides. At around 7:30 p.m., near the exit to 17th Street, drivers were forced to navigate around two large deflated slides that had found their way onto one of the lanes, as reported by FOX 5 Atlanta.
The slides, part of the soon-to-open Slide City Waterpark at Atlantic Station, were in the early setup phase and, before they had been properly secured, the gusts of wind proved strong enough to dislodge and deposit them into the path of oncoming traffic the situation was quickly managed, and the lane has since been cleared for regular travel. According to images caught on interstate cameras shared by the Georgia Department of Transportation, the slides were seen lying deflated on the side of the major freeway.
Through social media, the organizers of Slide City Waterpark addressed the incident stating in an Instagram post that, "the inflatables had not yet been secured to the ground" but affirmed that for the final installation, all appropriate safety measures would be diligently followed to prevent such occurrences upon the park's debut yesterday. Channel 2 Action News acquired video footage showing at least four waterslides from the park's 20 attractions getting blown over a retaining wall in the back part of Atlantic Station and onto the downtown connector below.
Concern rose from the community when the slides made their unexpected journey from Atlantic Station onto the busy lanes, however, there have been no reports of injury as a result of this event the waterpark's official website promises a multitude of attractions but surely did not count on them touring the asphalt unprompted. As stated on WSB-TV, Slide City Waterpark is set to feature an all-inflatable pop-up experience, including the rogue inflatables that caused the traffic delay, and is expected to open without further incident this week.
