Kathy writes in…
Apparently this is a huge mess, so people will want to avoid this area until it is cleared
· DeKalb Co.: Gas Main Break…ALL LANES BLOCKED at Scott Blvd. and DeKalb Industrial Blvd. Expect big delays.
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Thanks for the alert!
As usual, I’m sure it was the construction crew.
http://www.11alive.com/news/article/288779/40/Gas-leak-in-DeKalb-County
Got caught in this around 10:45 this morning. Took almost 45 mins to get through. Then wife got caught in it too.
Weird that they attribute it to a gas leak. It looked (and there was plenty of time to observe, believe me) like there was some sort of chemical or fuel spill. Firefighters were thoroughly hosing down the roadway when I was there. But no clear evidence of the source of the spill. Why would you hose down the road for a gas leak?
Thanks! This was the first location I could find that had some information on what is going on. I wonder what this is going to do to the Middle school and high school dismissal?
This entire construction project has been a disaster since the day it started. Katie Kerr was closed for 2 weeks due to a collapse under the road, and it’s been almost impossible to access any of the businesses along Dekalb Industrial/North Arcadia for a month.
Probably moot as the damage to rush hour traffic is done, but has the road been reopened?
Nope.
Latest report says the roads won’t reopen until tomorrow. Criminey.
That’s what I saw. Here’s the specifics:
http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/story/22004636/gas-main-break-shuts-down-lawrenceville-highway
I couldn’t even begin to explain what a fuster cluck this is. At least I can type on dm since cars are only sitting. Every road leading in and out of Decatur are at a standstill. I wish the crew could be fined for this sht.
Don’t forget the roads actually in Decatur. Absolutely crazy. Nothing is moving.
I had to use every shortcut in the book to get across the city this afternoon. Luckily it worked, but I pity anyone using any major road on the Northside this afternoon. HooDoggie.
Please guide me. I’m stuck on Clifton which I took to avoid the blockage my phone indicated on N.Druid Hills and Clairemont. This is the worst I’ve seen in years.
Made it. A commute that is 20 minutes with no traffic, 40 minutes on a bad traffic day, took me 1 hour and 8 minutes.
Yay! (That you made it)
BREAKING: DeKalb county
Well done.
Gosh, if we could just invent some sort of transport that would take masses of people from one place in the city to another without using surface roads; wouldn’t that be great. If that could happen we could have bragging rights over NYC, Boston, Paris, London and every major or wannabe metropolis in the world.
I actually did take the train today, and still got tangled in the madness. I swore off the train last week after I was stuck at 5:45 for half an hour at 5 points, with the broken boards overhead, and intercom announcements about the delay that couldn’t be heard because they were being completely drowned out by the hundreds of frustrated/cranky platform people. If there ever is a real emergency that system isn’t going to be able notify anyone of anything. Anywho, after I read this site today, I knew the bus wouldn’t work, but still got into the madness upon heading home.
It feels like my afternoon trip has increased in length by at least 20 or 30 minutes over the past couple of years both in the car and on MARTA. I’m hoping it doesn’t get any worse than this.
Gotta disagree about MARTA — for all its faults (and there are many), on most days the trains are on time. If I catch the 6:45 train at Decatur I almost always walk into my office in Peachtree Center at 7:10. Yes, the occasional breakdowns and delays are very frustrating, but so is gridlocked traffic, and at least I can read a book on MARTA.
You’re absolutely right about the MARTA PA system — it’s worse than useless. Also on my list of annoyances are the trash in the stations, 3-month escalator repairs, the sporadically functioning message boards, the non-enforcement of rules about food, noisy music, etc., and most especially that stupid safety video with Harry the Hawk. Every time I see that thing I think about how much tax money was wasted producing it.
MARTA is a great value when it runs like it’s supposed to, but I’ve had at least 5 trips in the past 2 weeks that have run me late and it’s getting worse. The North Ave boards are NEVER working. I tried to use the trip planner because I needed to get to Grant Park for a mid-day meeting, after waiting around for 15 minutes past the time the trip planner said the bus was scheduled to arrive, I called the CS number, and was told that bus wouldn’t be there for at least another 25 minutes, the trip planner had the wrong schedule, at which point I go to go wait on the train and the “no message” boards.
The 4:15- number 36 female bus driver- I understand waiting on the frail and elderly to sit before moving, but the hordes of kids that are horse-playing before boarding the bus? Give me a break. There are tons of them, she sits through sometimes LITERALLY 2 or 3 lights because none of them seem to understand that everyday, just like the day before, they need to put money in the machine to ride the bus, and wait until they get up on the bus to begin looking through their bags for money, keeping the bus full of people waiting. One day for fun a couple of weeks ago, I got off at Clifton and did a brisk jog to Clairmont, and got there before the bus picking up all the high schoolers.
But this will all be another memory once the pollen count hits low again, and I can ride my bike to Midtown in 40 minutes. Faster than both the bus and train. Can’t wait!
The bus is a whole different deal, no doubt about it.
Channel 11 just reported that the road has reopened.
So tomorrow should be ok? I’m not doing an hour and a half (counting child transport) of stop and go for a second day in a row. If I wanted to do that, I’d live in Hoboken, another foodie city, and get stuck on the NJ Turnpike.
Fried clams at the one of many HJ on the NJ Turnpike. A memory and an intestinal blockage that will last for me forever.
Howard Johnson’s fried clams, yes! And kids got little menus with perforations that allowed them to wear it as a hat.
Does Howard Johnson restaurants still exist?
and…. Blueberry Toasties for breakfast!!!
Frankforts grilled in butter.
NPR did not say a word about this traffic. I wanted to hit them every time they did a traffic report and only mentioned a stalled car blocking one lane on the connector. Had to turn to 95.5 for a real traffic report.
You should be listening to 106.7 (you, too, O).
the AJC also had NOTHING on this gas issue or the traffic…what the heck
Took the bus from Emory home to Decatur at 3:30, no problem. Tried coming back with my car after parking on campus opened at 4:30, everything was at a complete standstill. My 2 mile drive took 45 minutes. (Half of that was just sitting on Clifton, making it from one end of campus to the other.) In no traffic this drive takes 8 minutes.
Headed out after work via Briarcliff and found that the Briarcliff/N Druid Hills intersection was also completely blocked off. There were fire trucks hosing something down around 7:30 and the road was still impassable at 9:30. What is going on?!
Report of another gas leak at Briarcliff/NDH.
I thought I smelled gas but I assumed that was just because I was already freaked about the gas leak elsewhere in town. Jeez!
Thanks to Kathy for sending the information to DM, and to DM for posting it. You saved my a$$ yesterday by giving me the opportunity to find another route and pick up the little ‘uns on time.
This morning was pretty bad on Clairmont NE. Aftershocks? Boy do I wish my commute was still walk to MARTA to Downtown. That was heaven.
So what’s the best apps for traffic *#$%-ups and alternatives? I use the traffic layer on Google maps and it’s so-so. It’s a general indicator of problems but seems to get the exact locations wrong or maybe it’s delayed feedback. Or do I just need to go out and buy one of the those granny GPS devices that sits on the dash and talks to you. My parents seem to love theirs.