The Downtown Connector

I live close to the Downtown Connector. Fortunately, it’s not a part of my work commute. If it was, my rating would probably be lower.
For non-​Atlantans, the Downtown Connector is where I-​75 and I-​85 combine to form a 7.5 mile stretch of highway in downtown Atlanta. Due to the sheer amount of traffic that has to flow through this corridor, it’s often congested. During weekday rush hour, it’s gridlock. On weeknights and weekends, it’s not so bad, unless there are major events going on downtown or there’s construction. Weekend construction on the Connector causes gridlock that is often worse than weekday rush hour congestion. Friday afternoon is consistently one of the absolute worst times to be on the Connector. Traffic back-​ups are common around I-​20.
That said, I do think the Connector is kind of cool. At it’s widest point, the highway is 14 lanes across, 16 if you count exit only lanes. It’s one of the widest stretches of interstate in the U.S. (The widest stretches of interstate are 26 lanes on I-​10 in Houston and 21 lanes on I-​5 in San Diego.) There are HOV (carpool) lanes and the interstate is closely monitored by the Georgia DOT. You can check for live traffic updates at
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The Connector has great views of the Midtown and downtown skylines whether you’re heading southbound or northbound. Heavy trucks and tractor-​trailers passing through the city aren’t allowed to ride on the Connector. Instead, they must use I-​285 as a bypass. This doesn’t help much with traffic, but it does keep the Connector mostly free of big semis.
For two semesters in college, I lived in a dorm room that overlooked the Connector. I was in a dorm near North Ave. across from The Varsity. Needless to say, there was a lot of road noise. Almost every night, we’d hear sirens of police cars or ambulances go by. It was especially bad during the time when the building HVAC would switch from cooling to heating or from heating to cooling because we’d have to leave our windows open during the transition period.
The Downtown Connector should be considered an Atlanta landmark.

Northbound lanes — coming from I-​20 Westbound the feeder lanes attempt to merge interstate traffic with more interstate traffic, the Martin St onramp, the exit only lanes to Edgewood Ave and Freedom Parkway all within 1 mile of each other. Traffic engineering fail #1. Southbound lanes that put drivers on I-​20 east or west have onramp traffic from the downtown surface streets near Grady and HOV entrance merging into the I-​20 exit lanes. Drivers traveling further south have to dodge the congestion to get to the far left lanes. Traffic engineering fail #2. All this under the watchful eyes of the DOT and Trooper Cruisers sitting on the shoulders using cameras scanning for expired tags, illegal window tint and the occasional escaped circus animals (a Zebra in 2010).

Twice a day during the week I cruise this tiny patch of hell. In the mornings driving from Freedom Pkwy north towards 400 isn’t too bad. The evenings are a whole different story. Trying to go from 85 south onto the connector is a clustercuss. The most annoying thing is that you never have any clue what the commute is going to be like. Some days (rare, but still happens) there isn’t a lick of back up. When this happens you grin from ear to ear. Other days it’s a waiting game to play chicken with cars around you who want to cut you off to try and move up an extra five feet and you can barely get on 85 from Ga400, much less onto the connector. Those days you scream as loud as you can and bang your fist helplessly against the steering wheel.
All I’m going to say is try and avoid this delightful bottleneck between the hours of 7 am-​10 am and 4pm to 7pm during the week. Weekends can be better, but have random hours of clustercussness dependent on what is going on in town.

Ok, we hate it… but I couldn’t get to alot, of places without it. It’s where I become bipolar and suddenly get road rage and wonder who gave some people a license. I’m just saying… ¡&#@*-, in order words… move, get out the way!

Every day I commute this road on my motorcycle, from Lindberg to Langford Parkway in the morning, and back in the afternoon.
The one star is for the HOV lane, which is my immediate destination after merging onto the highway in the midst of massive traffic entering from both the merger with I75 and the Lindberg onramp, and more traffic struggling towards the Spring Street exit, which is about 1 mile south from the entrance. So, for 1 mile, you have traffic moving in essentially 3 different directions at speeds from 0mph to about 70mph.
It just ain’t safe.
Assuming I make it alive to the HOV (so far so good), I settle down and watch the rest of traffic bounce around. Sometimes the sound of close-​proximety collissions can be positively alarming. This is especially common after everyone gets past the madness of Spring Street and guns it towards 14^th and 10^th, where the 3 right lanes suddenly stop.
The only thing worse would be driving north at the same time of day. It’s an absolute parking lot every morning. Likewise, heading south is an absolute parking lot every evening.
Some days have interesting themes. For example, several times I have seen mattress day. I don’t know why so much bedding gets strewn along the median on I75/​85, but the mystery is part of the charm. Another theme day was chair day. That’s right. And, not all of them were in the median. Chair day was a swerving festival of fun and furniture.
Of course, every day is fender day. Need a rear bumper panel for a white 1997 Pontiac? You’ll find it on the inside lane of the Downtown Connector.

One would think that 16 lanes would leave ample space for traffic, right? WRONGGGGGG! This place can be hell. If you’re not patient… or if you like to be on the phone and not pay attention… or you’re trying to text… or you’re just a DUMBASS driver, stay off of it. Seriously. There are plenty of times I’d rather deal with surface street 5-o’clock traffic rather than the Connector. When I’m getting on 85 North @ Dobbs… if the traffic is going to be bad all the way up past the split, I’ll get off @ Spring & West Peachtree & take West Peachtree alllll the way up, where it turns into the access road — Northeast Expy/​13. It’s swell. Dumps me out right before the 13/​Buford Highway exit.

There isn’t much to be said about the «Downtown Connector» that hasn’t already been said by the illustrious Ivan S. So perhaps instead of reviewing the entire connector, I will review the portion of it with which I have had a special relationship for the past SIX FREAKING YEARS.
I work at an office building just off of the Northside Drive exit of I-​75. I live near Chamblee. This means that every evening when I leave work, I have to take I-​75 South to I-​85 North.
There should be a special Hell just for the person who designed this portion of the Connector. «Oh yes,» said he, «I think it’s a CAPITAL idea to make people merge across 4 lanes of traffic immediately after getting onto the highway. I’m sure it will be no problem for them to do this within a one-​mile drive.»
Oh, and assuming you manage to get across all of those lanes of traffic (which is especially difficult since people seem to want to play Chicken for no apparent reason) there is still the ridiculously sharp turn on the ramp to I-​85. Because it’s no problem at all to slow down to 25 mph immediately after gunning it to race across all of those lanes of traffic.
I love it. And in the past six years, it hasn’t affected my sanity one bit (as I’m sure you all can tell).

For those new to Atlanta (or unfamiliar with its southern charms), the creatively named Downtown Connector is where 2 major interstate arteries (I-​75 and I-​85) «connect» into one massive stretch of cars and trucks and pain and rage. Whoever thought it was a good idea for 2 of the country’s most traveled highways to merge in the middle of a major metropolitan city should be found, flogged, water boarded and forced to watch endless hours of Brett Michael’s «The Rock of Love.» The Connector is every bad idea ever conceived wrapped up in a Pandora’s Box of asphalt and misery.
Oh, but by giving us 14 lanes, that SURELY takes care of the congestion. That addresses congestion like a fire hose to the face cures a stuffy nose. Because when Ma and Pa Kettle drive down from Young Harris on their way to the Redneck Olympics down in Dublin, GA only to face the mouth of madness, the paralysis runs straight from the tip of their gray-​frosted hair to the soles of their steel-​toed boots.
The Connector simply laughs.
And now, and NOW as if the exquisite torture weren’t enough, construction has begun on various downtown and midtown projects (expanded access roads, a new bridge, new inlets and outlets, etc.) to last through to the Spring of 2009. Fretting will do no good. After having long since gone through denial, sadness, bargaining, anger, back to sadness then anger then sadness then back to anger, acceptance really is the best way to cope with the oncoming woe.
Accept though you may; your sanity may depend on it. Just don’t linger too long. For as Nietzsche once wrote, if you gaze for long into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.