Best time through Atlanta?

Not a trucker but have often traveled 285. Night time is about the best time. Rush hours are the worst.....6:30am-9:00am and 4:30pm-7:00pm. If there is/was an accident you can plan on traffic not thinning out until after those times. Of course if there is a car sitting on the side of the road, traffic will come to a near halt in that area due to gawkers (also better known as rubber neckers.) I don't know the last time you have traveled on 285 but now days it's crazy at any time of the day especially where major interstates/roads merges onto it.....or off of it. Everyone likes to wait until the last minute to merge onto it and of course 90% of the time cutting someone else off. You have your last minute people who to decide to cut 5 lanes over and get off onto an exit that less than a quarter of a mile away, cutting off everyone in those 5 lanes.

Of course, this probably goes for most major cities.

I have been known to drive an extra hour just to avoid getting onto 285.

 

I drive through atlanta everyday to my current job, and the above post is pretty right. Remember trucks must go around downtown if you dont have a stop in town. You will find it has a flow to it, like if your going out of town in the mornings or into town in the evenings it isnt to bad. And listen to am 750 when in atlanta, does a traffic report every 6 minutes and very accurate. Also typically the north side tends to be worse than the south especially 285. So if you going thru town on I20 always go south and not north 285

 

I used to find the best time to go through Hotlanta at about 2am. I used to always go through town, didn't give a crap what they said about trucks not going through there...I figured I paid for the road, so I used it. I never got caught, but you might not be so lucky, so might not want to try it, LOL.

 

Better be around atlanta and not through it... Lets see worse time is anytime between sunday and the following sunday....

 

I have seen DOT working around atlanta a lot more the past few months, so go thru if you wish.

 

Back in the day, when I drove for PST, I always had an excuse prepared for why I was inside the loop. Either... "I'm dropping this empty at the prison." Or I'd have a bill of lading that said I was delivering inside the loop. Either way, I never got a chance to try out my excuses.

Now, with the advent of GPS, I can see that it's not much longer to take 285 than it is to go through... and probably quicker too (unless there's an accident on the loop).

 

I agree with that. Maybe that's due to all the people from 75-S and 400-S merging. I haven't had to be on 75 north of ATL in years so idk what its like during rush hours. Also....I-20 east of ATL seems to be a bit worse than I-20 west of ATL.

I do know that 400 pretty much comes to a stand still during those times and its getting worse. Hubby used to call it "The Big Parking Lot." You can get off on Mansell or North Ridge Road and take 9-S and make a few turns to come out on S Cobb Drive and get back on 285 to avoid much of this but seems everyone else knows this secret too and the traffic there has become heavier in recent years.

285 has a north and south? According to road signs and the news there is a 285E 285W 285N 285 S. lol I just always say.....heading towards Macon or heading towards Chattanooga. Oh yeah, with respect to which loop I'm on. "Im on the inner loop heading for Chattanooga"....lol

 

Atlanta really isn't that bad on the loop. N. Chicago 294 with the lane closures is worse.

I never lost more than 1/2hr in Atlanta, but Chicago with snow and the construction I have lost 5 hrs. =I couldn't get out and barely made it to the WI scale to park it.
Gary,In can be even worse for lake effect ice.

Anything N of DC all the way to Connecticut can get tough in the PMs. NYC after 3pm locks up and accidents can shut it down (auto fire on a bridge etc)

 

i no every time i go though there i go late a night a just drive right though downtown lol