Georgia DOT announced an upcoming traffic shift for the under-construction diverging diamond interchange in McDonough. The project is located at I-75 exit 218 / state route 20.
The upcoming traffic shift will occur during the overnight hours on Monday night, April 18, starting at 9 pm. The traffic shift is to accommodate phase 3 of the interchange construction. During this phase, contractors will construct the center sidewalk and prepare the bridge for final project layout.
Upcoming Traffic Shift
The upcoming traffic shift will change the following:
- The eastbound lanes will shift right and close one left turn lane to I-75.
- The westbound lanes will shift right and close one left turn lane to I-75.
This will result in one left-hand turn lane in either direction onto I-75. The final stage of construction will also result in periodic overnight closures of the I-75 overpass. Georgia DOT will communicate in advance when these closures will occur. In addition, Moving Henry Forward will share the closure to help motorists know when it occurs.
The final construction completion date is presently October 2022 for the project. Construction began in fall 2020.
Diverging Diamond Interchange
The project under construction will convert the interchange to a diverging diamond interchange. DDIs allow motorists to turn left on or off the interstate without the need to cross in front of opposing traffic. The design accomplishes this by using a cross-over. Motorists cross to the left-hand side of the bridge at the first traffic light, drive across the bridge, then cross back over at the second traffic light.
DDIs have been present in Georgia since 2012. The first diverging diamond in Georgia opened that year off I-285 near Perimeter Mall. Since then, other DDIs opened in Cobb, Fulton and Gwinnett Counties. State Route 20 will be the first DDI in Henry County.
