Road work near hospital to last for weeks

Construction projects in front of Piedmont Atlanta Hospital may continue for many weeks.

The current construction involves road resurfacing, pavement markings, concrete work and minor utility adjustments between Howell Mill and Peachtree roads, according to Tamae Partain with Renew Atlanta, the city’s infrastructure bond program that was approved by voters in 2016. Lane closures are occurring during the construction, with uniformed police officers and cars with flashing lights helping to facilitate traffic flow, according to Partain. One morning this week, traffic was backed up from the hospital complex all the way down Collier Road to Northside Drive, and then all the way down Northside to the I-75 exit ramp, and then down the ramp onto the northbound expressway. Drivers reported 30-minute or greater delays in the trip from the Northside exit on 75 to the hospital.

Most of the resurfacing work should take about two more weeks, depending on the weather. But work in the area won’t be quite completed at that point.

Georgia Power is expected to begin work directly in front of the hospital next week, Partain said. That project could take up to six weeks.

Once that work is complete, city crews will return to resurface that section. Final pavement markings, concrete work and utility adjustments will be staggered about 30 days after paving is completed. The work is happening alongside construction of the hospital’s new 16-floor Piedmont Atlanta Tower, which will house the Marcus Heart & Vascular Center. That expansion project has been slated for completion in 2020. Piedmont Atlanta is at 1968 Peachtree Road NW. The first phase of the 10-year expansion plan will be complete in September 2020, with 3,000 people working to complete it.