The Cobb Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved spending $13,865 for preliminary engineering work and utility relocation in advance of the Post Oak Tritt-Hembree Road intersection project, which could feature the construction of a roundabout.
The $2.2 million project (here’s the brochure) is included in the Cobb Government 2016 SPLOST. Other aspects of the project include additional street lighting and sidewalk improvements.
The intersection has no traffic signals, and only a stop sign on Hembree and a left turn lane from Post Oak Tritt eastbound onto Hembree offer traffic control.
“This has been a long time coming,” Cobb commissioner JoAnn Birrell said, noting the intersection’s proximity to Pope High School, further north on Hembree Road, where a roundabout was completed just before the start of the current school year.
The Post Oak Tritt-Hembree Road intersection project is expected to get underway this spring, with an expected completion date in mid-2019.
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If you’re using Interstate 75 at all this weekend and into next week, there are some closures to note, via the Cobb Department of Transportation, that may affect your commute in and out of the East Cobb area.
The I-75 southbound exit ramp to Cobb Parkway will be closed from 9 p.m. tonight to 5 a.m. Saturday. Southbound motorists will merge onto I-285 westbound, then use Exit 18 to reach Paces Ferry Road. That will be followed by a left on Paces Ferry and another left to the entrance ramp for I-285 eastbound. After that, motorists will use Exit 19 for Cobb Parkway to resume their travel.
The I-75 southbound exit ramp to the South Marietta Parkway will be closed from Sunday through Thursday. The closures start at 11 p.m. and continue to 5 a.m. each day. Motorists coming off I-75 southbound to the South Marietta Parkway will stay on I-75 and use Delk Road (Exit 261). The detour includes taking a right on Cobb Parkway.
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The construction area along Sandy Plains Road will be between East Piedmont Road and Ebenezer Road, marked in green (mapped via OpenStreetMap.com).
The Cobb Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved a $4.4 million contract for Sandy Plains Road traffic improvements that will include a raised median, new crosswalks and pedestrian signals and resurfacing.
The road work will stretch from East Piedmont Road to Ebenezer Road. The contract was awarded to C.W. Matthews, the low bidder among five, and the funding is coming from the 2011 SPLOST.
The project is estimated to take about a year from the time a notice to proceed with construction is issued.
The elevated concrete median will stretch from Kinjac Drive to Ebenezer Road, which prompted Northeast Cobb commissioner JoAnn Birrell to ask about the possible use of synthetic turf that’s recently been suggested to replace grass road medians.
“I’d rather see the concrete erased but I know that is more expensive,” she said. Cobb DOT director Jim Wilgus said that issue can be taken up when the construction project reaches that stage.
At a recent work session, Cobb commissioners heard a presentation about two synthetic turf median experiments, along stretches of Cumberland Parkway and Austell Road.
The combined cost for the turfing is close to $150,000, but each job would last more than 20 years and pay for itself in the third year and in the long run cost less than mowing grass.
Also on Tuesday, commissioners approved a nearly $12.7 million contract with Baldwin Paving Co. for 36 miles of countywide resurfacing projects, including $375,000 once the Sandy Plains Road improvements are completed. The funding also comes from the 2011 SPLOST.
Other East Cobb roads on that project list include:
Indian Hills Drive, from Old Canton Road to Ridgewater Drive (1.21 miles);
Wildwood Parkway (0.16 miles);
Gordy Parkway, from Sandy Plains Road to Shallowford Road (1.2 miles);
Jims Road, from Steinhauer Road to Wigley Road (0.67 miles);
Knight Road, from Ebenezer Road to Blackwell Road (0.62 miles);
Sandy Plains Road, from Canton Road Connector to Canton Road (0.25 miles);
Sandy Plains Road, from Ebenezer Road to Shallowford Road (1.8 miles);
Steinhauer Road, from Shallowford Road to Trickum Road (2.01 miles).
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Trees at the Marietta Campground covered with snow. (East Cobb News photos by Wendy Parker)
We did get out and around East Cobb Sunday afternoon, as did many other East Cobbers needing food and other provisions (including Christmas trees) and trying to get back to normal.
Many businesses and restaurants were also open, and most roads with downed trees and power lines had been cleared.
As was reported earlier today, Cobb schools will be closed Monday, due to icy roads expected in the morning, and because some schools still do not have electrical power.
We haven’t gotten details on which schools were without power, but icy road conditions across the county are expected for Monday; temperatures are expected to reach into the low 50s, along with the same sunny skies we’ve had since Saturday.
Send us your photos and news!
Share your winter weather pictures, and we’ll post them, as well as business or other closings or cancellations. E-mail editor@eastcobbnews.com.
As of 5:20 p.m. Sunday, Cobb EMC estimated that about 5,000 of its customers are still without power (outage map), and that a broken power line on Ebenezer Road in Northeast Cobb is still among those needing repair.
Earlier today we also noted that there was only one road in the county that was closed, and that was the roundabout at Holly Springs Road and Davis Road. It was open when we drove through there shortly after 3 p.m. (photo just below); if you’re heading north on Holly Springs you may notice a few tree limbs hanging close to a power line, which apparently had been the cause of the closure.
We then traveled eastbound on Shallowford Road, from Sandy Plains to Johnson Ferry, there were some patches of ice, since there wasn’t a lot of direct sunshine. In particular, there were icy spots in the right eastbound lane on Shallowford between Sandy Plains and Lassiter Road, so if you’re in that area, take precautions and slow down, especially at the intersections of Wesley Chapel Road, North Hembree Road and Old Suttons Way (just below).
Johnson Ferry Road was well traveled around 3:30 p.m., and as traffic increased for the Johnson Ferry Baptist Church Christmas Festival service that began at 4 p.m. There’s another service at 7 p.m., and there are police officers directing traffic.
Heading westbound on Lower Roswell Road was almost pure slush, especially between Indian Hills Parkway and Old Canton Road. Unlike Shallowford, this stretch of Lower Roswell was getting a lot of direct sunlight, but with temperatures freezing overnight it figures to be treacherous for Monday morning traffic.
Here’s what we have on openings/closings for Monday as of 5:30 p.m. Sunday. Please e-mail your news/photos to: editor@eastcobbnews.com:
Cobb public libraries will be open;
St. Catherine’s Episcopal Church preschool and St. Ann Catholic preschool are closed Monday;
Classes at The Walker School are closed Monday. The U.S. Science exam will start at 12pm, the campus will open to U.S. arrivals at 11:30am. This is the only exam tomorrow and includes 8th grade students taking the Biology exam. The Lower School chorus concert will occur as planned at 7 p.m.;
Ronald Sachs Violins will be open from 3-6 on Monday;
High Meadows Schools will be closed Monday;
East Cobb Pediatrics will be open on Monday;
A Monday holiday concert of the Sprayberry High School chorus also is cancelled since there will be no school tomorrow.
Students (and we hope some adults!) get to enjoy a continuation of a most unexpected winter wonderland in East Cobb, two weeks before Christmas.
The entrance to the Willow Ridge subdivision at Robinson Road.
Send news of opening/closing/cancellations and photos of the snow near you to: editor@eastcobbnews.com.
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Cobb schools posted this notice on its Twitter account just a few moments ago:
All Cobb County schools are closed Monday, December 11, for both students and staff, due to continued power outages at multiple schools and poor travel conditions on secondary roads in the northern part of the county.
ORIGINAL REPORT, POSTED 12:47 P.M. SUNDAY:
By noon Sunday, East Cobb was still digging out of snowy and icy weather as temperatures gradually began to rise above freezing.
Work crews were out early Sunday morning, treating roads, removing trees and restoring power. Some areas of East Cobb were affected.
The only remaining road closure in the county is in East Cobb, at the intersection of Davis Road and Holly Springs Road, according to Cobb DOT. There, power lines were tangled with trees, and even after repair work is complete, motorists are advised not to travel through that area (where the roundabout is located).
Bill Shelton, Cobb DOT’s road maintenance manager, said in a statement that “We hope to have the majority of trees cleaned up by mid-afternoon. We’ll spend much of the week picking up the debris off the right-of-way. It will be a long week, but we are up to the task.”
Cobb DOT crews treated roads overnight Saturday into Sunday, treating “black ice” on roads as temperatures dropped into the low 20s, refreezing melted snow and water. More than 50 locations were treated.
Cobb DOT crews also are dealing with tree removal issues on major roads and in county right-of-way areas today. A total of 55 calls were addressed by right before 8 a.m. Sunday, with another hundred or so remaining.
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Share your winter weather pictures, and we’ll post them, as well as business or other closings or cancellations. E-mail editor@eastcobbnews.com.
Some East Cobbers were still without power this morning, some for more than a day since several inches of snow began falling on Friday afternoon.
East Cobb United Methodist Church, on Roswell Road near East Piedmont Road, did not hold services today because it’s still without electricity. The same was the case for St. Andrew United Methodist Church on Canton Road, which also cancelled a holiday concert scheduled for Sunday.
By mid Sunday morning, Cobb EMC reported that it was still working on repairing several broken utility poles in the county, including Ebenezer Road in East Cobb.
Around 5,000 Cobb EMC customers, some of them in East Cobb, were still without power by mid-morning. The agency said it cannot estimate the time when service might be restored.
Earlier this morning, Cobb EMC said it is still working in that area, and in portions along Paper Mill Road, to restore electricity. Here’s an outage map that indicates more detail; those who haven’t reported outages should call 770-429-2100.
Georgia Power offered some general time blocks for restoring power to affected areas, including by 3 p.m. in metro Atlanta and by 6 p.m. in Atlanta North.
Its latest outage map shows that most customers in metro Atlanta who have lost power have had it restored, with most remaining issues in north Georgia.
OPENINGS/CLOSINGS, ETC.
Here’s the latest on what we know, at around noon Sunday. Send your news/photos to: editor@eastcobbnews.com and we’ll add it here, or in future posts:
Lutheran Church of the Resurrection cancelled all Sunday services and is postponing today’s Christmas Pageant and Advent Dinner to a later date;
Cactus Car Wash is open from 12-6 today;
The Pope Showcase of the Arts that was scheduled for today has been postponed to Sunday, December 17th at 7:30 p.m.;
As of now (around 12:30 p.m. Sunday), the Atlanta Youth Wind Symphony concert at 4 p.m. at the Lassiter HS concert hall is still going on as scheduled;
The Johnson Ferry Christmas Festival concerts at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. are still scheduled as of now, and a makeup concert from Saturday will take place at 7 p.m. Monday;
Sunday ChrisTeen classes at Transfiguration Catholic Church (4:30 and 7:30 p.m.) are cancelled;
The Carols for Christmas concert at Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church at 6 p.m. is still scheduled;
The St. Nicholas Holiday Market scheduled from 12-4 today at Holy Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Catholic Church is being postponed to next Sunday, Dec. 17, as power at the church was only restored at midnight;
The Empty Bowl Brunch today at The Art Place-Mountain View also is being postponed a week, to Sunday, Dec. 17. If you have tickets and cannot make it next week, please contact The Art Place on Monday for a refund; the event is a benefit for MUST Ministries;
A Monday holiday concert of the Sprayberry High School chorus also is cancelled since there will be no school tomorrow;
Here are some social media postings yesterday and today from around East Cobb; we’ve also been iced in at East Cobb News and are going to try and get out a little bit today!
Send news of opening/closing/cancellations and photos of the snow near you to: editor@eastcobbnews.com.
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Snowfall estimates in Cobb County range from two to eight inches, and freezing temperatures are in the Saturday night forecast.
UPDATED, 4:30 P.M. SATURDAY:
Shortly after 3 p.m. Saturday, Cobb EMC indicated that around 16,000 customers were still without power combined in all of its five counties of service, with the following numbers of customers without power in the following East Cobb ZIP codes:
30062: 1,624
30066: 2,621
30067: 536
30068: 990
30075: 1,620 (Cobb and Fulton)
In a Tweet sent out at 4:15 p.m., Cobb EMC said its hardest-hit areas that remained in East Cobb were along Lower Roswell Road, Little Willeo Road, Timber Ridge Road and Sandy Plains Road.
Georgia Power doesn’t have a number of customers still needing power to be restored, and says it can’t give estimates on when the lights will go back on, but also has been updating an outage map.
Although temperatures have risen above freezing this afternoon, and combined with sunshine have caused some melting of snow, state and local officials are urging citizens to stay home for the rest of Saturday, since freezing temperatures will be in effect.
All of metro Atlanta and north Georgia has been subjected to downed trees and power lines, and work is underway to clear them.
At 3 p.m. Cobb government sent a message saying that the county DOT is undertaking tree removal tasks.
“Most main roads are considered to be in good shape,” the DOT message said, indicating that crews will be out again on Sunday “to make sure every road is open by the end of the weekend.”
Residents should report downed trees by calling Cobb County 911.
The Bethlehem Walk holiday event scheduled for 7-9 Saturday at Mountain View United Methodist Church has been cancelled, as it was on Friday.
SUNDAY CHURCH SERVICE UPDATES:
While some businesses—and especially restaurants—have decided to open today, at least for dinner service, many remain closed. The weather situation also is prompting some churches to call off or reschedule not only holiday events scheduled for the weekend, but also Sunday services. Here’s what we have thus far:
Piedmont Church will not be holding Sunday services after earlier cancelling its Christmas Festival that had been scheduled for Friday and Saturday;
Johnson Ferry Baptist Church has cancelled its Christmas Festival services that were scheduled for 4 and 7 today. The Sunday Christmas Festival services slated for 4 and 7 on Sunday are still on for now, and a service has been added for 7 p.m. Monday to make up for today’s cancellations. The 8:30 a.m. worship service and related Bible Studies or activities will be held on Sunday, but the 9:50 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. worship services and Bible Studies, and activities scheduled around them are still on;
Holy Trinity Lutheran Church is holding regular worship services Saturday and Sunday;
St. Catherine’s Episcopal Church is holding one combined service at 11:15 a.m. Church school classes and the 7:45 and 8:45 services are cancelled;
Mt. Zion United Methodist Church also is holding just one service Sunday, at 11 a.m.;
Catholic Church of St. Ann will have most regular Sunday services and events as scheduled, except for hospitality hour;
Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church will have an 11 a.m. service only at its Lower Roswell campus. Here’s more, per the church’s Facebook page: “Nursery will be available, but all Sunday school classes and breakfast are cancelled, and shuttles will not run. Carols for Christmas is still planned for 6pm. North Campus will hold its 10:30 service only. All other NC activities are cancelled.”
We’ve got other openings/closings/cancellations listed below that we posted earlier, with some additions.
Send us your photos and news!
Share your winter weather pictures, and we’ll post them, as well as business or other closings or cancellations. E-mail editor@eastcobbnews.com.
ORIGINAL REPORT, POSTED AT 11:37 A.M. SATURDAY:
By mid-morning Saturday, the sun was starting to sneak out in East Cobb, and some of Friday’s record snowfall was starting to melt away.
But citizens throughout metro Atlanta and north Georgia are being asked to stay off the roads if at all possible today as work crews travel to repair downed electrical lines and trees, restore power and prepare roads for sub-freezing temperatures tonight.
So you’re being asked to enjoy this holiday winter wonderland at home, at least for another day.
As was the case on Friday, many East Cobb businesses are closed, holiday and other events have been cancelled or postponed all day Saturday.
There are still some Georgia Power and Cobb EMC customers without power in East Cobb, although western and more northern portions of the county were harder hit.
Georgia Power has been posting most of the morning that it is not able to give estimated times for restoration of power. It is updating on its outage map.
Cobb EMC is reporting “high volume with our outage reporting channels,” and also is tracking via an outage map that is working intermittently.
More than 30,000 Cobb EMC customers in the county are without power, including an estimated 7,500 customers in the East Cobb area.
Of those East Cobb outages, around 3,200 have been reported in the 30066 ZIP Code of Northeast Cobb. Cobb EMC has asked for outside help from crews in middle Georgia and other parts of the state as it works to restore power.
Cobb EMC is asking those without power to call 770-429-2100. If the call volume is high (you’re likely to get a constant busy signal), e-mail your outage to memberservices@cobbemc.com. While you won’t get a reply, Cobb EMC said it is logging all e-mails.
Traffic accidents have been reported just about everywhere, with vehicles stranded beside roads, and the hazards of downed trees and power lines are widespread. Here’s what Cobb DOT issued right before 10 a.m. Saturday:
Major roads are mostly passable, but avoid traveling unless absolutely necessary;
Reports of 100 trees down countywide, crews are still in the process of clearing 50 of those;
Another 1.5 inches of snow fell overnight. Reports of 7+ inches in parts of the county are common.
Here’s another update from Cobb DOT, sent at 11:20 a.m.:
Cobb DOT crews working 12-hour shifts have kept most of the main roads passable, but the 911 center has taken hundreds of calls about trees down many blocking roads. Cobb DOT is calling in extra tree-cutting crews at noon to help PARKS crews already dealing with the increasing amount of calls.
Cobb residents that encounter trees blocking roadways or on power lines should report those locations to Cobb County 911.
“We’re hoping the sun stays out and the breeze helps clear the moisture off the roadways,” said Bill Shelton, Cobb County Road Maintenance Division Manager. “If the roads can dry up before temperatures drop back below freezing that would be the best-case scenario.”
Most of the main roads closed by downed trees had been reopened by 11 a.m., but other calls were coming in. Road sensors across the county were reporting temperatures several degrees above freezing.
Here’s else what we know, as of 10:30-11 a.m. or so, about what’s open and what’s not in East Cobb, and what’s been cancelled. Some of this information is obviously very fluid and subject to change. We’re getting e-mails and monitoring social media traffic for most of these items, so please let us know if we need to make a correction/update.
We will be posting significant updates at the top of this post if/when they become available:
CLOSED/CANCELLED
All Cobb public library branches, Cobb Linc service also will be out of operation;
Piedmont Church Christmas Festival is cancelled and is not being rescheduled;
All Upward Basketball games and pictures have been cancelled at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church, as have today’s Christmas Festival services. They’re still on for Sunday at 4 and 7 and a 7 p.m. Monday service that’s been added;
Righteous Que restaurant is closed;
Montrose Animal Hospital is closed, Saturday appointments will be rescheduled starting Monday, dropoff for pets with boarding reservations accepted until 2 p.m. today around the back;
Chattahoochee Nature Center is closed all day;
All Saturday services at Transfiguration Catholic Church are cancelled, as well as the 8 a.m. Sunday Mass;
C’est Moi is closed all day Saturday.
OPENINGS/DELAYED STARTS
Loyal Q and Brew restaurant opening at 11 a.m. with limited staff on hand;
The WellStar East Cobb Urgent Care is open from noon to 7 p.m. today;
Simply Fresh Market is open from 12-4 today;
Chick-fil-A Lassiter is tentatively opening between 11:30 a.m. and noon with a limited menu;
Rose and Crown Tavern is closed for lunch and is tentatively planning to open for dinner service at 6 p.m.;
Seed, Stem Wine Bar and Drift are opening for dinner service at 5 p.m.;
Bradley’s Bar & Grill and Zeal Restaurant & Bar are both open Saturday;
Frankie’s Italian Restaurant on Roswell Road opened at 12 pm.;
WZ Tavern on Shallowford Road is open Saturday;
GTC Merchants Walk Cinema is open Saturday;
Both locations of Moxie Burger and La Novia Taqueria will be open until 8 p.m. Saturday;
Black Swan Tavern opening was delayed to 4 p.m. Saturday.
Some East Cobb social media postings to share below, illustrating the depth of the snow, and the danger of the ice underneath that will be freezing again tonight:
Hoping everyone is warm and safe. Don’t forget to work on that jump shot. ❄️ 🏀 pic.twitter.com/wNQAVt5gA4
Send news of opening/closing/cancellations and photos of the snow near you to: editor@eastcobbnews.com.
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The start of Friday’s snow in East Cobb, which got between 2-4 inches in two waves of storms. A winter storm warning is in effect for Cobb County, metro Atlanta and most of north Georgia until 10 a.m. Saturday. (East Cobb News photo by Wendy Parker)
UPDATED, 8 P.M. FRIDAY:
The National Weather Service has extended its winter storm warning that includes Cobb to 10 a.m. Saturday, as a second wave of snow and winter weather passed through metro Atlanta and north Georgia late Friday afternoon.
Cobb was expected to get between 2-4 inches of snow overall, but those amounts are likely to vary.
Roads in Cobb and elsewhere are becoming increasingly treacherous, as Cobb DOT, Georgia DOT and other crews work to brine roadways, bridges and overpasses overnight Friday. Temperatures have generally dropped below freezing in Cobb and Saturday’s high is expected to be only 40 degrees.
The chance of “black ice” is one of the major concerns, as well as the possibility of falling trees and reduced visibility on roads due to the unexpectedly heavy amounts of snow.
Cobb libraries will be closed on Saturday, after closing at noon on Friday along with other Cobb government offices and facilities.
The second blanket of snow came through metro Atlanta later Friday evening, behind early afternoon storms that prompted school, government, business and many other closures, and as commuters, buses and other vehicles created an early, messy rush hour.
Georgia DOT is urging motorists to treat an intersection with traffic light outages as a four-way stop. They should also call 511 to report outages when they reach a safe destination.
Georgia Power and Cobb EMC were reporting scattered outages. As of 6:30 p.m., Cobb EMC reported that its outage reporting channels were down and they’re working to fix the problem.
Cobb EMC customers who have lost power can download an outage on the Cobb EMC app or call 770-429-2100. The web link still wasn’t working as of 7:30 p.m. but an link can be found here that will link to detailed outage information when it’s available online.
(At 9 p.m. Friday an East Cobb News reader called to say that the Cobb EMC power outage phone number was down, and had been down for about an hour.)
Most of the estimated 5,500 Cobb EMC customers without power as of 8 p.m. were in western and north Cobb, with outages also being reported in several parts of Northeast Cobb.
Georgia Power is asking its customers to consult its outage map but has indicated it is not able to estimate when power may restored to an affected area.
Some closings for Saturday to report are below. E-mail us at: editor@eastcobbnews.com with your news of closings, and any weather photos to share. We’ll keep updating as long as we’re in a pre-Christmas Winter Wonderland:
Holy Trinity Lutheran Church has postponed Saturday’s Breakfast With Santa until next Saturday, Dec. 16, at 9 a.m.;
All events/classes at Studio 348 for Women have been cancelled for Saturday;
East Cobb Pediatrics will be closed Saturday;
Club Pilates East Cobb is closed Saturday;
St. Andrew UMC is postponing its Christmas concert to 6:30 p.m. Sunday (updating information below in this post about a 2 p.m. start);
All parish activities at Transfiguration Catholic Church will be postponed until noon Saturday. The Saturday 9 a.m. Mass will be held if weather permits.
Original report, with some updates from earlier Friday afternoon:
We’re keeping an updated tab on East Cobb weather closings for Friday, with the announcements earlier today of the early release of Cobb schools and the closing of Cobb government at noon.
Here’s what Cobb DOT sent out around 1:15 p.m. Friday:
“With conditions on Cobb County roadways deteriorating faster than expected, Cobb County Department of Transportation called in crews early and began treating trouble spots. By 12:30 traffic slowed to a crawl on many of the county’s roadways and crews manned trucks with salt to head out to the worse areas.
“DOT’s Road Maintenance Division planned on running full shifts until 2 pmSaturday, concerning falling temperatures could cause icing. Some crews concentrated at areas around schools where Cobb’s Elementary Schools, the last to dismiss early, would send buses out at 1:30 pm.
“The division’s full complement of trucks, 15 vehicles in all, will run predetermined routes treating much of the county’s 2500 miles of roadways, including state highways.
“Traffic maps at cobbcommute.org showed many of the county’s thoroughfares either running very slow or at a standstill. Officials urged people not already on the roads to avoid going out until the system moves away.”
Temperatures in Cobb and metro Atlanta are staying around freezing all day, and will be plummeting below that by Friday evening.
Information about closings is coming via e-mail, social media posts and other sources. If you know of closings (schools, businesses, churches, organizations, etc.), and especially planned activities, please let us know and we’ll share it with the community. E-mail news, photos, etc. to: editor@eastcobbnews.com.
Cobb schools are on early release, with the last phase elementary school students at 1:30 p.m. There will be NO extracurricular activities, including the ACT testing, which will be rescheduled
Most private schools in East Cobb are either under an early release or have closed.
Cobb government closed at 12 p.m., including libraries, which will be monitoring road conditions to determine whether to open on Saturday.
The Cobb government closures also include The Art Place-Mountain View (3330 Sandy Plains Road), and tonight’s Center Stage North performance of “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” has been cancelled.
Roswell Road at WellStar East Cobb Health Park, shortly after 12 p.m. Friday (From Georgia 511 camera)
Send us your photos and news!
Share your winter weather pictures, and we’ll post them! If you know of school, church, business or other closings or cancellations too! E-mail editor@eastcobbnews.com.
Here are the latest updates about openings/closings for local businesses, organizations, churches (especially for holiday events):
The Piedmont Church’s Christmas at Piedmont festival scheduled for 5-9 Friday has been cancelled; updates about Saturday’s 10-5 session will be posted on its Instagram account;
Mt. Zion United Methodist Church has postponed its Breakfast With Santa, which was to have been from 8:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m. Saturday;
All Fidelity bank branches were closing around noon Friday;
The Lockheed-Georgia Credit Union also closed Friday around noon;
Tonight’s Christmas concert at St. Andrew United Methodist Church (3455 Canton Road) is being postponed until Sunday at 2 p.m., with a reception to follow;
Friday’s Bethlehem Walk from 7-9 at Mountain View United Methodist Church is cancelled; the final session of the holiday event is still on for the same time on Saturday;
At The Avenue East Cobb, carriage rides from 4-7 have been cancelled, but Santa Claus will be in the Santa Suite next to J. Jill for visitors and photos during that time;
The Carols for Christmas program Friday at Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church has been cancelled. In its place will be a service at 6 p.m. Sunday
East Cobb Pediatrics closed at 1 p.m. Friday;
All J. Christopher’s locations closed before the normal 2 p.m. closing time;
Olde Towne Athletic Club has closed and will delay Saturday opening until 12 p.m.;
Chicago’s Steak & Seafood is closed Friday;
Seed, Stem Wine Bar and Drift are closed Friday;
The British Swim School of North Atlanta is cancelling Friday lessons and offering free makeup lessons;
Book Exchange is closing early Friday, but an author open house is still scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday;
Righteous Que is closing at 3 p.m. and is not accepting any more phone orders Friday;
Johnson Ferry Baptist Church offices have closed for Friday, and all Friday activities are cancelled. As of 2 p.m. Friday, the Christmas Festival services at 4 and 7 Saturday and regular Sunday worship services are still scheduled;
Big Peach Running Co. closed at 2 p.m. Friday and will update Saturday opening based on weather conditions;
WellStar Medical Group offices closed by 2 p.m. Friday. All WellStar Urgent Care locations were closing at 3 p.m. and are scheduled to open at 10 a.m. Saturday;
All CobbLinc public transit services will be suspended at 8 p.m. Friday and will open Saturday, with service times TBA.
Cobb DOT is urging motorists not to get on the roads if they don’t have to. Conditions are deterioarating and crews will be working to treat the roads as the day continues. To monitor the latest conditions visit the Cobb Commute site.
Sandy Plains Road at East Piedmont Road, also around 12 p.m. Friday (Georgia 511 camera)
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Roswell Road at the entrance to The Avenue East Cobb. (Georgia 511 camera photos)
The holiday shopping season has begun, and with it traffic bottlenecks around major retailing areas. As far as East Cobb Black Friday traffic is concerned, however, there’s not much that’s going to delay your commute, other than the usual local travel conditions.
As of noon Friday, there have been no major traffic accidents in East Cobb that have been reported. Camera photos from Georgia 511 (Georgia DOT’s real-time update service) included here were taken around 12 p.m., with the heaviest traffic around major malls. Those include Cumberland and Town Center, where lots were filling up, but getting around those areas doesn’t appear to be too hectic.
A reminder that Cobb government offices are closed on Friday, including libraries, but they’ll reopen at their usual times on Saturday.
Johnson Ferry Road at Lower Roswell Road.Sandy Plains Road at Shallowford Road.Roswell Road at Greenbriar Parkway.Ga. Highway 92 at Sandy Plains Road.
If you’ve recently traveled on Providence Road from Pine Road to the intersection of Roswell Road near East Cobb Park, you’ve seen construction crews on the east side of the road.
That’s where a sidewalk project is underway, and will be completed in December. To be precise, the sidewalk construction is taking place between Providence Corner Drive (a little bit south of Pine Road) and Roswell Road, linking up other existing sidewalks and providing additional pedestrian access points.
There will be traffic delays as the project continues, with work crews on occasion reducing traffic to one lane.
The Cobb Board of Commissioners approved spending $63,700 for the project in August.
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The site of the old East Marietta Library will become the new entrance to Sewell Park and the Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center. (East Cobb News photo by Wendy Parker)
As the new Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center gears up for its Dec. 4 opening, the old East Marietta Library building that stood for 50 years went away last week.
Work crews demolished the old facility as part of a connected road construction project along Lower Roswell Road.
The old library site will be the entrance to the new library and to Sewell Park. That entrance will be part of a newly figured four-way intersection at Lower Roswell with Shawnee Lane.
The Lower Roswell Road West project stretches from Holt Road to the South Marietta Parkway includes road widening, turn lanes around Eastvalley Elementary School and Sedalia Park Elementary School and repaving.
The 1.29-mile project is expected to finish in December.
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Several Terrell Mill Road traffic improvements to accommodate the relocations of Brumby Elementary School and East Cobb Middle School were approved Tuesday by the Cobb Board of Commissioners.
The commissioners approved a measure to spend $427,656 for a new traffic signal, a sidewalk and flashing beacons around the new school sites, which are under construction adjacent to one another and are set to open for the 2018-19 school year.
The low bid was from Glosson Enterprises, Inc., and the work is expected to be done by July 22, 2018—a little more than a week before the start of school.
The money is earmarked from the 2016 Cobb government SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax).
The signal will be installed at Terrell Mill Road and Greenwood Trail, at the joint entrances to the schools. The sidewalk will be constructed on the north side of Greenwood Trail, from Terrell Mill Road to Foxcroft Circle. Here’s more from Cobb DOT:
“To mitigate impacts of the new signal at Terrell Mill Road and Greenwood Trail and along the Terrell Mill Road Corridor, the adaptive signal timing area will be expanded to include the new signal and four other existing area traffic signals.”
The commissioners also approved a measure that would allow Cobb DOT to begin condemnation proceedings against two property owners in the area should right-of-way negotiations with them fall through.
Cobb DOT said discussions are continuing with Victoria Kelly and Erin Bell, property owners at 3141 and 3142 Greenwood Trail, respectively, both located at the intersection of Terrell Mill Road.
The county needs 253 square feet and 430 square feet, respectively, from the property owners for right-of-way and construction easements to complete the traffic improvements. Condemnation would be employed only to meet project deadlines.
If you travel along Lower Roswell Road around the Sope Creek Bridge, you’re still subjected to the weekday lane closures that have been in place since the East Cobb Pipeline Project began in late 2015.
Well, there is a projected end date for the delays as the post-installation Lower Roswell Road work nears completion: Nov. 1, according to Commissioner Bob Ott’s office, which sent out word Friday.
It was a brief message, noting that “final paving will be done in the evening hours. Thank you to everyone for your patience over the year. Hopefully traffic patterns will return to pre-pipeline.”
Further west on Lower Roswell, repaving work continues between Holt Road and the South Marietta Parkway as part of a separate traffic improvements project that includes road widening and turn lanes, especially around Sedalia Park Elementary School and Eastvalley Elementary School. Here’s more from Ott’s office about that:
This project consists of widening Lower Roswell Road from approximately 425 feet east of SR120/South Marietta Parkway to Holt Road, and includes the addition of left-turn lanes, right-turn lanes, and signal modifications. The project will also add sidewalks within the project limits, and will include resurfacing from SR120/South Marietta Parkway to Terrell Mill Road. Resurfacing Operations NIGHT WORK – are scheduled through Sunday, Nov. 12, on Lower Roswell Road between Utica Drive and South Marietta Parkway. Expect lane closures between 7 p.m. and 5 a.m. with one lane remaining open at all times.
The portion of Lower Roswell between Terrell Mill and Holt has been repaved, but there is still striping work to be done.
7:12 AM: Good morning East Cobb! It’s the last day of summer—fall officially kicks in around 4 p.m. today, although it won’t feel like it, with high temperatures once again in the high 80s, and high humidity to boot.
Here’s a quick look at some key traffic points this morning as the commuting hours get underway. Thus far no major accidents to report on local roads in East Cobb, although there is a minor accident which is being reported on Roswell Road near the 120 Loop.
For the most part, though, the East Cobb area—as we’re typing this anyway—is relatively clear as daybreak sets in. There are the usual jams and bottlenecks appearing along key Interstate 75 junctions, and an accident also is just now being reported via Waze on I-75 southbound near Windy Hill Road.
The photos are screenshots of key East Cobb intersections from the Georgia 511 site (and area map as we have it now):
Old Canton at Roswell RoadPowers Ferry Road at Terrell Mill RoadRoswell Road at East Piedmont RoadSandy Plains Road at Shallowford RoadCanton Road at Shallowford Road
Lower Roswell Road repaving between Terrell Mill Road and the 120 Loop is expected to take a month. (East Cobb News photo by Wendy Parker)
Starting Sunday, a Lower Roswell Road repaving project will begin that will take up to a month to complete.
This is separate from the East Cobb Pipeline Project that is almost complete. Some work crews are still testing pipes and doing other cleanup work on Lower Roswell around the Sope Creek Bridge, and repaving will get underway after that and continue into the fall.
The repaving that gets underway this weekend will take place at night, and it will be done in two stages.
The first stage, on Lower Roswell between Terrell Mill Road and Holt Road, will take place nightly between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. According to Cobb DOT, it’s expected to be done by Oct. 15.
After that, and for another two-week stretch, the Lower Roswell Road repaving will continue west from Holt to the 120 Loop.
That segment of the project, expected to be finished next spring, includes widening Lower Roswell, signal modifications, adding left and right turn lanes and a constructing a five-foot sidewalk on the west side.
While that work continues, the new Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center will be completed next to (and replacing) the East Marietta Library on Lower Roswell.
During the hours of the repaving, traffic on Lower Roswell Road will be reduced to one lane.
Unicyclists from Mt. Bethel Elementary School are a regular part of the East Cobber parade. (East Cobb News photo by Wendy Parker)
The one Saturday out of the year in which you can actually see unicyclists pedaling down Johnson Ferry Road is this Saturday. That means it’s time for the East Cobber parade, which begins at 10 a.m. and includes some significant closures along one of East Cobb’s busiest traffic arteries.
If you’ve experienced this before, the schedule is familiar, and remains essentially the same. Cobb Police will be shutting down Johnson Ferry Road between Roswell Road and Johnson Ferry Road between 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.
There may be some changes to this, in terms of time and precise closure points. Sometimes you can drive all the way to Princeton Lakes Drive, where the parade route begins, out of Mt. Bethel Elementary School, up until around 9:45 a.m.
It’s best to observe the 9:30-11 window, and the Roswell-Lower Roswell boundaries, especially to give yourself time to find parking and a vantage point, and in case there are any logistical changes.
Woodlawn Drive will remain open, and is a good route to find a place to watch the parade—the Johnson Ferry Baptist Church parking lot will be available—but expect delays due to the closures.
Princeton Lakes Drive will be closed entirely from 8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Saturday as the parade route assembles at Mt. Bethel Elementary School and heads south on Johnson Ferry Road.
Cobb DOT also is setting up detours at the following intersections, and these too have been done in previous years:
Intersection of Roswell Road and Indian Hills Parkway;
Intersection of Lower Roswell Road and Indian Hills Parkway;
Intersection of Roswell Road and Timber Ridge Road;
Intersection of Lower Roswell Road and Timber Ridge Road.
If you can’t get to the parade but want to watch, it’s being streamed live on East Cobber‘s Facebook page (link here) and Instagram account (link here).
The festival begins at 11 a.m. in the Johnson Ferry Baptist parking lot near the athletic fields. Here’s a full list of parade and festival participants. Here’s more on this weekend’s events in East Cobb.
The intersection of Riverside Drive and Heards Ferry Road is one of several traffic closures in Sandy Springs. Click to view larger map.
For East Cobb commuters who use Riverside Drive in Sandy Springs to get to Interstate 285 and beyond, you’ll have to find another route, at least for another day or two. That’s because of downed power lines and trees caused by Tropical Storm Irma.
This morning the City of Sandy Springs issued a notice saying that the intersection of Riverside Drive and Heards Ferry Road—the last major intersection south of I-285—remains closed, and that eight Georgia Power trucks will be needed to make repairs. Seven power poles were damaged in the storm at that juncture.
More details here about that closure and others in Sandy Springs that may affect your commute:
“Public Works is setting up variable message signs (VMS’s) in advance to alert drivers. We are alerting motorists at Johnson Ferry Rd/Riverside Dr and Johnson Ferry Rd/River Valley Rd that Riverside Dr is closed. We are also placing a VMS at the Riverside Dr and I-285 westbound roundabout alerting motorists that Riverside is closed. On Heards Ferry Rd, VMS’s will be placed at Raider Dr west of Riverside Dr and Mount Vernon Hwy east of Riverside Dr alerting motorists that Heards Ferry Rd is closed.”
Here’s the full link to what’s being distributed today by Sandy Springs, including a full list of road closures (and they had quite a few).
Crews work on a power line on Little Willeo Road near Johnson Ferry Road Tuesday afternoon. (East Cobb News photo by Wendy Parker)
As work crews repaired power lines and cleared tree and other debris from roads Tuesday, East Cobb started to return to normal after riding out Tropical Storm Irma. Although partly cloudy skies and some rain are expected Wednesday, by the end of the week East Cobb weather will pick up where it left off before Monday’s storm.
Cobb County was spared the worst of the powerful storm’s damage that has crippled much of Georgia and other parts of metro Atlanta.
Cobb EMC reported no power outages as of late Tuesday afternoon, while several hundred Cobb customers of Georgia Power, mostly in South Cobb, were still without electricity.
Cobb officials said fewer than 100 trees were reported down throughout the county, and no major roads or streets were closed as a result of that or other damage.
An AT & T service truck flashing caution lights to passing motorists on Little Willeo Road on a rainy Tuesday afternoon. (East Cobb News photo by Wendy Parker)
The Cobb County School District is the only major school system to return to classes Wednesday (East Cobb News post here), as sizable areas of metro Atlanta remain without power and have road hazards.
There are still plenty of minor branches and light debris scattered about East Cobb. In addition to electric crews, trucks from AT & T, Comcast and other utility companies were repairing lines, cables and other connection points that experienced lost service.
Irma carried sustained winds of more than 30 mph in many places around metro Atlanta, and gusts in some cases exceeding 50 mph, but those winds never got as strong in Cobb.
In nearby Sandy Springs, wind damage knocked down trees along many major roads, and a falling tree killed a man sleeping in his home. Motorists were advised not to travel to Sandy Springs from East Cobb via those affected areas (East Cobb News post here).
As Cobb students return to classes and business fully open on Wednesday, the rain will gradually dissipate and warmer temperatures will return. A 30 percent chance of showers is forecast for East Cobb, mainly in the afternoon, along with partly sunny skies. The high temperature should be around 75 (here’s the 7-day local forecast by the National Weather Service).
Thursday also is expected to be party sunny, with a high near 79, and Friday will be mostly sunny with temperatures in the low 80s.
Two people were killed in a one-car accident off Lower Roswell Road in East Cobb early Tuesday morning, according to Cobb Police.
The victims, both males, died when the white Dodge Challenger in which they were riding slammed into a stone wall at the entrance to the Gold Branch Trail of of the Chattahoochee National Recreation Area shortly after midnight and caught fire.
Police said the men were pronounced dead at the scene, and that the Cobb County Medical Examiner’s Office was working to identify them.
Police said the vehicle was traveling on Lower Roswell Road near Asheforde Drive when the driver apparently lost control.
In addition to the roads being wet, police said the vehicle apparently was exceeding the posted 40 mph speed limit.
Anyone with information about the accident should call Cobb Police at 770-499-3987.
A northbound view of Johnson Ferry Road at Princeton Lakes Drive, at 11 a.m. Tuesday. (Georgia 511 photo)
Cobb County got plenty of rain and high winds and power outages on Monday as Tropical Storm Irma engulfed metro Atlanta and Georgia, but it could have been a lot worse.
Cobb schools and government remain closed today as the cleanup continues following the passage of the large storm, which has been downgraded to a tropical depression.
Two people died in metro Atlanta and more than 1.5 million customers in Georgia lost power during Irma, whose arrival prompted a statewide declaration of a state of emergency.
Some motorists are out on the roads and some businesses are open today, but local and state officials are warning of downed trees and power lines, debris and standing water.
Compared to other communities in metro Atlanta, Cobb dodged the worst of Irma. As of 11 a.m. Tuesday, Georgia Power reported around 50 power outages in the county remaining (after several thousand initially), compared to several hundred in Fulton, DeKalb, Gwinnett and Clayton (here’s more).
In this Georgia Power outage map as of 11 a.m. Tuesday, the red colors indicate power outages between 5k-15k, orange 500-5k and green under 500.
Cobb EMC reported late Monday evening that fewer than 200 customers were without power, but hasn’t updated that figure this morning.
Many of the dozens of roads in Atlanta, Fulton County, DeKalb and elsewhere that closed Monday still hadn’t reopened as of late Tuesday morning. Cobb DOT as yet hasn’t identified any road closures but all major East Cobb thoroughfares are open; we’ll be getting out soon to take a look around.
Also hard-hit in Monday’s storm was Sandy Springs, adjacent to East Cobb, where a man died when a tree fell on his house while he was sleeping.
Several major roads in Sandy Springs remain closed this morning, and Cobb officials urged motorists who may be headed there to seek alternative routes.
Trees were reported down on Johnson Ferry Road in Sandy Springs, not far from the Chattahoochee River and the border with East Cobb. Here’s the advisory sent out by Cobb government this morning:
“The City of Sandy Springs is asking all motorists to stay off the roads on Tuesday. Georgia Power is not able to begin repairs on any down power lines until Tuesday morning.
“Sandy Springs has more than 30 roads impacted by down power lines. Of those, ten roads are major connections for residents throughout the metro area as part of their daily commute including: Spalding Drive, Riverside Drive, Johnson Ferry Road, Powers Ferry Road, Lake Forrest, Northside Drive, High Point Road and Glenridge Road.
“There is no timeline on when to expect roads to reopen. The City has closed its offices on Tuesday and encourages other businesses within the city to do the same.”
And as we noted here yesterday, the Cobb Board of Commissioners meeting scheduled for today, including the final public hearing and adoption of the fiscal year 2018 budget and passage of the Cobb 2040 Comprehensive Plan has been postponed to Sept. 22.
How did you fare during the storm? Let us know! Send your news, including photos if you have them, to: editor@eastcobbnews.com.
We’ll post another update later today after we take a drive around the community.
The intersection of Johnson Ferry Road and Roswell Road, one of East Cobb’s busiest, shortly after 10 a.m. Monday. (Georgia 511 camera photos)
The typical morning rush hour was anything but on Monday, as East Cobb motorists heeded the warnings of Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal and other officials to stay off the roads as Tropical Storm Irma pushed into metro Atlanta.
With schools and government offices closed (previous East Cobb News coverage here), as well as a growing number of businesses, what normally would be traffic bottlenecks around East Cobb took on the appearance of lonely stretches of backwater roads.
For most of Monday morning, moderate to heavy rain from Irma engulfed the entire state of Georgia, although the center of the storm was passing through central Alabama.
(At 10:40 a.m. Monday, Cobb County government announced all offices and services, including courts and libraries, would be closed on Tuesday.)
The rain began overnight, along with winds around 15-20 mph, but they were expected to pick up substantially into Monday afternoon. Up to 5-7 inches of rain are being forecast by the National Weather Service throughout the metro area into Monday evening, and sustained winds of 35-40 mph and gusts possibly surpassing 60 mph.
Because of the low temperatures—in the mid-to-high 50s late Monday morning—the likelihood of tornado weather has been drastically reduced.
Powers Ferry Road at Windy Hill Road.
Deal declared a statewide state of emergency on Sunday afternoon, and tropical storm warnings issued by the National Weather Service on Saturday were to continue indefinitely.
Cobb, metro Atlanta and most of Georgia also remain under a flash flood watch until early Tuesday. The potential wind damage to trees and power lines, as well as debris and glass falling from buildings, has prompted some rare actions. MARTA bus and rail service has been suspended for Monday. As of 11 a.m. Monday the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport remains open, although hundreds of flights have already been cancelled.
Roswell Road at the 120 Loop.
After tearing through Florida on Sunday, Hurricane Irma entered south Georgia Sunday night as a Category 2 storm, and was expected to be downgraded to Category 1 and tropical storm status as it traveled north.
But the power of the storm has caused plenty of serious damage to Georgia already. State emergency officials and law enforcement agencies have been reporting big trees and power lines being down in roadways, and damage from buildings and other debris endangering motorists, pedestrians and emergency crews.
By mid-morning Monday, those reports included locations in the metro Atlanta area.
Hundreds of thousands of Georgians are already without electricity, and those numbers figure to skyrocket as the effects of Irma move through the state and into Alabama and western Tennessee by Monday evening.
Georgia citizens are being urged to stay where they are for the remainder of Monday. However, Georgia DOT is advising that “if you are out and about and come to a traffic light out—treat as four way stop.”
Terrell Mill Road at Paper Mill Road.
Cobb residents are being urged to acquaint themselves with safety information provided by the Cobb Emergency Management Agency. The basics include having flashlights, batteries, fully-charged cell phones, mobile devices and portable radios ready, along with procedures for moving to a safer part of a home or other building if necessary.
To prevent against being injured by falling trees, broken glass or other debris from high winds, move to a room without windows.
If you lose power, know the emergency phone number and procedures for contacting for your service provider.
Georgia Power is asking customers to report outages at its outage information link. (At 11:30 a.m., Georgia Power reported that about 330,000 customers statewide were without power, including around 85,000 in metro Atlanta, numbers that were “growing fast.”)
If you are a Cobb EMC member, report outages on its free app or call. 770-429-2100. Do not report outages to its social media channels.
