The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Crane makes mess of Buckhead traffic
GDOT: Company was denied a permit for road closures.
A crane has clogged up a busy stretch of Peachtree Road in Buckhead since last weekend, and according to the Georgia Department of Transportation, a Rhode Island-based developer never got approval for it to be there.
To make matters worse, GDOT spokeswoman Natalie Dale told WSB Radio, the crane is broken down. It blocks all northbound lanes of Peachtree at Pharr Road, forcing northbound traffic onto the southbound lanes. “No time is the right time of the year to shut down Peachtree to this extent, but certainly not during the holidays when people are trying to get things done,” Dale said in an interview with the radio station.
A developer — Gilbane Building Company, according to Channel 2 Action News — working on a project in the area had applied for a permit for road closures, and it was initially denied, Dale said.
Because the permitting process is free and typically painless, Dale said developers don’t balk at GDOT’s orders very often. It’s not unprecedented, but it is “highly uncommon,” she said.
GDOT was alerted to the problem at the end of the weekend after several drivers complained of heavy delays while shopping in the busy commercial district. The added holiday traffic on the road makes the problem even worse, Dale said. At this point, she said GDOT is “looking at what tools we have between ourselves and the city as far as repercussions go for shutting down a major thoroughfare through the city of Atlanta without a legitimate permit.” Fines are likely, she said.
The developer told GDOT on Monday it was waiting on a part for the crane coming in from outside the country. Dale said officials were told the crane would be oper- able Tuesday, but the developer had not made that goal as of 5 p.m.
Gilbane Building Company issued a statement Tuesday afternoon to Channel 2. “We understood our subcontractor had filed the right paperwork and received the proper approvals to have a crane in that location,” spokesman Wes Cotter said. “We are working with the Georgia Department of Transportation and the Atlanta Police Department to complete the necessary and safe removal of the crane as soon as possible.”
Said the GDOT’s Dale, “We’re still waiting to find out what the actual timeline is.” Ideally, she said the developer would have come back with a better proposal for traffic control and the agency likely would have recommended overnight construction to alleviate some of the congestion through Buckhead. For now, drivers will have to plan an alternate route or sit in traffic. Piedmont Road or Northside Drive are good alternatives, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center.