Georgia 511 photo of I-75 near the Terrell Mill Road express lanes.
From the Georgia DOT:
The Georgia Department of Transportation will scale back road construction activities across metro Atlanta and suspend construction-related lane closures on all interstate and major state routes to ease Memorial Day weekend traffic congestion.
Starting at noon on Friday, May 24 and continuing to 5:00 a.m. Tuesday, May 28, 2019, there will be no construction-related scheduled lane closures on any Georgia interstate highway – including metro Atlanta Interstates 20, 75, 85, 285 and 675 or any primary state route that directly serves Georgia’s major tourist and recreation centers. The Department notes that some work may continue on lesser-traveled state and local system roads and that incident or emergency maintenance-related lane closures could become necessary on any route. If motor vehicle accidents occur on any roadway, temporary lane closures may be installed until the scenes are cleared.
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Cobb Forward, the county’s comprehensive transportation update, is seeking public feedback via an online survey that continues through the end of May, and that takes just a few minutes to complete.
It asks participants to state their priorities for roads, transit, trails, cost efficiencies, safety and technology and innovation upgrades and options.
This is the first Cobb CTP (explainer here) to incorporate a broad base of information, including technology (i.e. autonomous vehicles), land use and other factors besides roads and transit.
A series of town hall meetings was conducted around the county this spring (presentation links here), and the next phase will be a needs assessment, expected later this year.
Recommendations will be made early in 2020 for the plan update, which will become part of the Cobb 2040 Comprehensive Plan.
That’s slated to be adopted by county commissioners in 2021.
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Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) contractors will implement overnight lane closures on I-75 this weekend for resurfacing. Expect some traffic delays.
Weather permitting, these are the lane closures scheduled for Friday, May 17 from 9:00 p.m. until 5:00 a.m. Monday, May 20:
Two right lanes and right shoulder lane will be closed on I-75 southbound between the Canton Road and Delk Road exits;
Three right lanes will be closed on I-75 northbound between the I-75/I-285 interchange and the Canton Road exit.
Overhead signs and message boards in the Marietta area will alert drivers of the closures in advance. These major closures reduce prolonged impacts to the traveling public by condensing the crews and equipment needed and ensuring safety for workers and drivers.
Motorists are advised to plan alternate routes to their destinations and/or allow extra travel time for traffic delays.
As always, motorists traveling in the area are reminded to reduce their speeds in the work zone. Motorists are also encouraged to wear seatbelts, eliminate distractions behind the wheel, and plan their routes before getting on the road by calling 511 for real-time information on work status and traffic conditions.
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Cobb commissioners on Tuesday approved a project to repair the bridge over Sope Creek on Lower Roswell Road.
Georgia Bridge and Concrete, LLC submitted a low bid (out of four received) of $356,440 and was awarded the contract. The funding comes from the 2016 Cobb SPLOST.
The project will consist of resealing bridge joints, replacing, drainage structures, patching existing concrete, stabilizing an approach slab, and installing polymer overlay.
Work will begin 60 days after the contractor gets permission to proceed.
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A photo of the former Wilce Frasier home taken over the winter, as the land was put up for sale. (ECN file)
One of the older buildings in East Cobb stands no more. A home more than 100 years old and located at 4658 Lower Roswell Road, at Woodlawn Drive, has been demolished by Cobb County government, which has had plans for several years to rework the intersection.
The demolition of the home and two smaller structures behind it took place following an expedited decision granted by Cobb commissioners on April 30 to County Manager Rob Hosack, at a cost of $18,625.
A low bid for the demolition work was awarded to Tucker Grading & Hauling, with the funds coming from the 2011 Cobb SPLOST account, according to a memo to Hosack from Cobb DOT Director Erica Parish and dated Tuesday.
The demolition was necessary, according to the memo, because the properties were in poor condition and trespassing had been taking place there.
On Tuesday, commissioners “ratified” the decision to tear down the buildings by a 4-0 vote. Commissioner Bob Ott of East Cobb was absent. The memo was included as an agenda item.
The home had been vacant since Jan. 2018, when the homeowner, Wilce Frasier Jr., died at the age of 93. According to deed records with the Cobb County Superior Court Clerk’s office, Frasier had lived in the home since the early 1960s.
A family member, Lisa Frasier McCalvin, said the home dates from the late 1800s: “Wilce grew up in this house with his brothers and sisters . . . . it never left our family . . . . the memories I have of playing in that house are some of my fondest from my childhood.”
Wilce Frasier’s obituary noted that he was a Navy veteran during World War II and worked at Lockheed-Georgia for 30 years, and that he is buried at the Mt. Bethel church cemetery just around the corner on Johnson Ferry Road.
His heirs had been in negotiations with Cobb DOT regarding right-of-way for the intersection improvements. The 0.9 acres owned by Frasier, put up for sale over the winter, has been sold. It had been marketed for possible commercial use.
The intersection project is part of Lower Roswell Road improvements stretching from Woodlawn, across Johnson Ferry Road and to Davidson Road and is part of the 2011 SPLOST.
A contract for the project was approved in 2012 but the county still needs to make more right-of-way acquisitions.
The improvements at Lower Roswell and Woodlawn will include installing a median and additional turn lanes at a clogged intersection.
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Plan ahead if you are going to to register your car title in May. Georgia will be upgrading its title and vehicle registrations starting May 21, leading to some services being unavailable and reduced office hours until the end of the month.
The system upgrade, called the Georgia Driver Record and Integrated Vehicle Enterprise System, will make online and kiosk services unavailable May 21-27. In preparation for the upgrade, some county tag offices will have reduced hours and fewer services available May 21-23 and May 28-29. All vehicle registration and titling services will be unavailable statewide May 24–27.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
Stephen Ake (right), marks a spot along the I-75 corridor at a Cobb Forward town hall meeting at the East Cobb Library. (ECN photos by Wendy Parker)
With Crayolas, magic markers and a wide variety of maps as their canvas, citizens are getting a chance to state their preferences for how they’d like to get around the county, and elsewhere, as part of Cobb’s transportation future.
For Stephen Ake of East Cobb, his issues are on several levels, and in multiple places. He took part in a public meeting at the East Cobb Library, and they continue this week and into May.
The project is called Cobb Forward, and the more formal designation is the Cobb Transportation Plan, which is updated every five years.
Citizen input is part of the process, but not just for getting around by car. The CTP takes in transit as well as bike and pedestrian concerns.
“I spend most of my time in Cobb County,” said Ake, a software engineer who lives in the Sandy Plains/Piedmont Road area, works off Delk Road near I-75 and enjoys taking his child to Noonday Creek Park for a recreational stroll. “What I’m hoping for is the county to take our input for a more short-term list,” Ake said.
That’s the major objective of Cobb Forward, which also will be at the Taste of East Cobb festival Saturday (10-5, Johnson Ferry Baptist Church), and will hold another town hall in East Cobb next Tuesday, May 7, from 7-9 p.m. at the East Cobb Senior Center (3332 Sandy Plains Road).
“This is for the county to get an idea of what you want,” Cobb commissioner Bob Ott told the several dozen people at the East Cobb Library event. “We’re all going to get out of this what you put into it.”
Current and future trends
They were treated to a vast array of data about Cobb population growth, home prices, education and employment patterns and future land use projections.
The information was so voluminous that some complained about it not being posted online (that’s supposed to happen soon) for them to view in advance.
All the numbers and analysis will be used to build on the 2040 Cobb Comprehensive Plan, and it’s the first CTP to incorporate a broad base of information, including technology (i.e. autonomous vehicles), land use and other factors besides roads and transit.
While Cobb’s population reached 750,000 last year, that growth is slowing a bit, up just one percent between 2017-18.
Cobb’s minority population continues to rise, in terms of number and percentage, to more than 330,000, or around 42 percent of all Cobb citizens.
How Cobb residents get around matters too, with around 125,000 people who both live and work in the county, with 60 percent of residents leaving to go to work. There are an estimated 300,000 jobs in Cobb.
What’s also playing into the future transportation dynamic are growing desires for walking and biking options.
Wish lists
At a table with several other citizens, Ake placed a green pin at a spot on the map along Delk Road, near his workplace, that he thinks ought to have a raised median for safety reasons. “What they’re doing on Sandy Plains now [near Sprayberry High School] they ought to do it there, too.”
Other citizens told members of the consulting firm staff they liked the idea of more roundabouts (such as one at Lower Roswell and Little Willeo Road) and the diverging diamond on Windy Hill Road over I-75.
Transit in East Cobb is rare, with the only CobbLinc bus route traveling along Powers Ferry Road. Some expressed an interest in high-speed rail along I-75, a possible bus route from Johnson Ferry into Sandy Springs, and transit to the Marietta Square.
Funding for that possibility, as well as what may come out of the Cobb Forward meetings, is another issue.
For now, the project consultants working for Cobb DOT are simply taking in the feedback, with the pledge that “everything is on the table,” before coming up with a list of feasible projects.
An online survey can be completed here through the end of May. You’ll be asked to list priorities for a number of transportation-related issues, how to allocate transportation funding and mark up maps on your own wish list.
After the town halls, a needs assessment will be conducted later this year, with recommendations made next year and final approval slated for 2021.
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From the The Auto Club Group of the American Automobile Association, which includes the state of Georgia:
Georgia gas prices are up this week compared to a week ago. Georgia drivers are now paying an average of $2.73 per gallon for regular unleaded- 3 cents more than a week ago and 13 cents more than this time last month. However, drivers are only paying 1 cent morethan this same time last year.
Motorists are paying an average of $40.95 for a full 15-gallon tank of gasoline; a discount of $1.05 from when prices were their highest last May.
“Gasoline prices nationwide continue to rise,” said Montrae Waiters, spokeswoman, AAA- The Auto Club Group. “The market price for crude and gasoline are major factors as well as local supply and demand.”
EIA (Energy Information Administration)
In its latest weekly petroleum report, the Energy Information Administration revealed that while demand decreased slightly to 9.41 million b/d last week, the rate is more than 325,000 b/d higher than where it was last year at this time. Alongside healthy demand, total domestic stocks of gasoline fell by 2.2 million bbl to 225.8 million bbl last week – 11 million bbl lower than the total stock level during this same week in 2018. Two other contributing factors are the switch over to more expensive to produce summer blend gasoline and reduced gasoline production as a result of maintenance at refineries across the country. As a result, American motorists should expect increased pump prices as demand remains robust and stocks dwindle.
Regional Prices
Most expensive metro markets – Atlanta ($2.79), Athens ($2.76), Gainesville ($2.75)
Least expensive metro markets – Albany ($2.61), Columbus ($2.59), Warner ($2.59)
AAA updates fuel price averages daily at www.GasPrices.AAA.com. Every day up to 130,000 stations are surveyed based on credit card swipes and direct feeds in cooperation with the Oil Price Information Service (OPIS) and Wright Express for unmatched statistical reliability. All average retail prices in this report are for a gallon of regular, unleaded gasoline.
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Updating a story from a couple weeks ago, following a pedestrian accident in front of Wheeler High School in March that seriously injured two students: the crosswalk improvement project was approved Tuesday by the Cobb Board of Commissioners.
Cobb DOT and the Cobb County School District are teaming up to finance the safety changes. Here’s a summary of what’s going to happen; the cost is $22,450, with the school district paying $9,758 for two rectangular rapid flashing signs within a raised median (similar to what’s on Lower Roswell Road at the Sewell Mill Library).
The other work includes creating a single crosswalk, closing off the parking lot at the former East Cobb Middle School from Holt Road access, improved street lighting and updated signs alerting drivers as they approach the crosswalk.
The students who were injured were struck as it was getting dark by a driver who was later cited, but not charged, by Cobb Police.
The crosswalk will be relocated to the intersection of Holt Road and Club Way, close to the Wheeler gym entrance, and combined with an existing crosswalk.
The county says the contractors will meet on May 1 to map out a construction schedule following the end of the school year. Wheeler holds its graduation at the gym on May 22.
The crosswalk area could be redone later, after Eastvalley Elementary School is relocated to the former ECMS site.
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I-75 at Delk Road Friday morning. (Georgia 511 photo)
UPDATE, 2:32 P.M.: Inclement weather has prompted Georgia DOT to cancel the resurfacing work this weekend. The forecast calls for rain all day Saturday with the sun to return on Sunday.
ORIGINAL REPORT:
From the Georgia Department of Transportation:
Contractors for the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) will implement daytime and nighttime lane and ramp closures in the Marietta area on I-75 in Cobb County this weekend to continue resurfacing activities.
Weather permitting, these are the scheduled closures:
Three left lanes will be closed on I-75 northbound from 9 p.m. on Friday, April 19 until 5:30 a.m. on Monday, April 22 from the Windy Hill Road exit to the Delk Road exit;
One center lane will be closed on I-75 northbound from 9 p.m. on Friday, April 19 until 5:30 a.m. on Monday, April 22 from the Terrell Mill exit to the Delk Road exit.
The right shoulder lane on I-75 at the South Marietta Parkway exit will be closed from 1 a.m. on Sunday, April 21 until 5:30 a.m. on Monday, April 22; and
The on-ramp to I-75 southbound from South Marietta Parkway will be closed from 1 a.m. on Sunday, April 21 until 5:30 a.m. on Monday, April 22. Message boards in the area will direct drivers to Delk Road to access I-75 southbound.
Overhead signs and message boards in the Marietta area will alert drivers of the closures in advance and will direct drivers to the next open exit to access I-75.
These major closures reduce prolonged impacts to the traveling public by condensing the crews and equipment needed and ensuring safety for workers and drivers. The project is scheduled for completion in spring 2019.
As always, motorists traveling in the area are reminded to reduce their speeds in the work zone. Motorists are also encouraged to wear seatbelts, eliminate distractions behind the wheel, and plan their routes before getting on the road by calling 511 for real-time information on work status and traffic conditions.
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The Cobb Board of Commissioners Tuesday approved spending $9.2 million in road resurfacing projects across the county, including a major section of Shallowford Road and all of Chimney Springs Drive in Northeast Cobb.
The Shallowford Road project (seen in map above) is the lengthiest of the 23 projects that were approved, covering 2.62 miles between Canton Road and Trickum Road.
The next-longest project is all of Chimney Springs Drive, which is a circular road with two entry points on Bishop Lake Road (seen in map below), spanning 2.54 miles.
Other nearby repavings will take place on Country Lane, a tenth-mile surface street between Chimney Springs Drive and Post Oak Tritt Road and 0.50 miles of McPherson Road between Post Oak Tritt and Shallowford Road.
Johnson Ferry Road, between Post Oak Tritt and Roswell Road (2.50 miles);
East Piedmont Road, between Allgood Road and Roswell Road (1.13 miles);
Maybreeze Road, between Ebenezer Road and Shallowford Road (0.66 miles);
Pete Shaw Road, between Steinhauer Road and Sandy Plains Road (1.22 miles).
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Cobb DOT and the Cobb County School District said Tuesday they’ve drawn up a number of safety improvements that will be made on Holt Road in front of Wheeler High School following serious injuries to two students who were hit by a car.
The accident took place around 7 p.m. on a Saturday, March 9, as they were moving gym equipment in the crosswalk.
One student, Malik Spellman, is facing a long recovery after suffering multiple injuries. The other student has not been identified. The 73-year-old driver of the car who hit them has been issued traffic citations but was not charged with anything else.
According to Cobb County spokesman Ross Cavitt, here’s what’s going to happen on Holt Road, in front of Wheeler and the parking lot of the former East Cobb Middle School:
Installing a “rectangular rapid flashing beacon” device at the crosswalk, which would include a raised median providing a pedestrian refuge in the middle of the road. This is similar to a pedestrian crossing currently in place on Lower Roswell Road just outside of the Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center.
Relocating the crosswalk away from a nearby side street and combine it with another crosswalk north of the current location.
Close an exit from a parking lot across from the high school near the crosswalk.
Install updated signage warning of the pedestrian crossing.
Upgrade street lighting in the vicinity of the relocated crosswalk.
Cavitt said the county government and school district will share in the costs, which haven’t been determined.
He said Cobb DOT was planning to conduct a pedestrian survey on Holt Road before the accident, with cameras and other devices recently installed.
Cobb DOT had planned a pedestrian survey on Holt Road before the incident happened. They installed cameras and other devices and are still studying the results.
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I-75 Southbound near Terrell Mill Road after the lanes were reopened around 11:30 a.m. Friday (Ga. DOT camera)
UPDATED, 5:45 P.M.:
Marietta Police say the man they took into custody on the interstate is suspected of an armed robbery at the customer service desk of the Walmart store at 201 Cobb Parkway South, near the Big Chicken.
Police said the suspect fled the scene before they arrived, but they were able to get a description from a video surveillance camera at the store and learned he left in a gray Honda Civic.
A Marietta officer discovered a vehicle fitting the description and initiated a traffic stop on I-75, and the driver ultimately pulled over on the shoulder near Windy Hill Road, police said.
Police said that because they thought the suspect was armed, they didn’t approach the vehicle, and began negotiations with him by phone.
That’s why they decided to shut down the southbound lanes, and a standoff took place lasting more than an hour.
More from MPD:
After negotiating attempts failed, members from the Marietta SWAT Team approached the vehicle and the driver was removed and taken into custody without injury/incident.
The male, who is not being identified at this time, is currently at a local hospital receiving a full medical evaluation.
ORIGINAL REPORT:
If you’ve been stuck in a miles-long logjam on Interstate 75 southbound in Cobb County this morning, you’re free to move about.
But it may take the rest of the afternoon to clear up traffic that was tied up for more than an hour due to police activity.
All southbound lanes were shut down at I-285 for more than an hour due to what Marietta Police initially described as “a traffic stop with an armed non compliant driver.”
The motorist is believed to be a suspect in an armed robbery at a Walmart store on Cobb County in Marietta.
The driver pulled over on the shoulder on I-75 and a standoff with police ensued, and the suspect was taken into custody. Some southbound traffic was diverted onto Windy Hill Road.
Possible detours around the congestion include the managed lanes and Atlanta Road, but Cobb Parkway also figures to feel the brunt of the traffic clear-up.
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Eric Meyer, Cobb DOT’s planning division manager, recently outlined the Comprehensive Transportation Plan process at the Sewell Mill Library. (ECN photos)
In April and May several town halls will take place for what’s known as Cobb Forward—the county’s comprehensive transportation plan (CTP) for 2050.
It’s a joint effort involving Cobb County government and its counterparts in the county’s six municipalities. A CTP was last done in 2015, but a number of developments since then have led to calls to create a new transportation vision for the county.
They include a referendum for expanding transit and the county government’s next SPLOST referendum in 2022.
Two of those CTP meetings will take place in East Cobb:
Thursday, April 18, 6:30-8:30 p.m., East Cobb Library, 4880 Lower Roswell Road;
Tuesday, May 7, 7-9 p.m., East Cobb Senior Center, 3332 Sandy Plains Road.
The purpose of the Cobb Forward meetings, per the county, is to develop a series of project lists, some of which would be funded with SPLOST sales tax revenues.
Transit recommendations also will come out of the countywide meetings this spring, some to be included in the new Atlanta Transit Link Authority (The ATL), which includes a 13-county area.
The Cobb meetings also will get underway in the aftermath of a referendum Tuesday in Gwinnett, where voters will decide on whether to join MARTA.
Cobb and Gwinnett were notable holdouts when the the MARTA system was created in the early 1970s and which serves Atlanta, Fulton and DeKalb counties.
At a recent Cobb budget town hall meeting at the Sewell Mill Library, Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce answered questions about some of transit and transportation issues.
He’s seeking legislation this year to allow Cobb to push back a transit referendum to 2022. That vote would decide whether a special transit district would be created out of a portion of the county (South Cobb) or all of it.
That referendum, if approved, would add a penny sales tax in Cobb earmarked for transit funding.
Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce
Cobb voters also will be deciding on SPLOST extension in 2020 for a new collection period beginning in 2022. The current SPLOST, which includes funding for transportation and other capital improvements, ends Dec. 31, 2021.
That’s a six-cent sales tax. Four cents go to the state, another is earmarked for Cobb and Marietta schools and the other for county government.
Boyce said an extension would be shorter.
“It won’t be six years,” he said. “I support four years, [Cobb] mayors like five years. This county is doing so well that in six years, we’re going to have a lot of money laying around. You don’t want to do that with politicians around.”
While the SPLOST process is relatively straightforward, hammering out potential transit options figures is more involved.
“It’s going to be long and complicated,” Boyce said.
A county transit survey that was released late last year indicated that a majority of Cobb voters would approve of an additional penny tax for transit expansion. That includes East Cobb, where the only CobbLinc bus line runs down Powers Ferry Road.
Like the SPLOST referendum, the transit referendum also will include a detailed project list and public hearings on what may constitute a future transit plan, said Eric Meyer, the Cobb DOT’s planning division manager.
“Tell us what you will support,” he said. “That’s why this is going to take three years.”
Among the transportation options for Cobb are bus rapid transit, rapid bus, heavy rail and light rail. The financing options could be joining MARTA, connecting with MARTA, expanding service with the sales tax mentioned above, or maintaining the status quo.
The other Cobb Forward town hall schedule this spring is as follows:
Wednesday, April 10, 7-9 p.m., West Cobb Senior Center, 4915 Dallas Highway;
Wednesday, April 17, 7-9 p.m., Smyrna Community Center, 200 Village Green Circle;
Monday, April 29, 7-9 p.m., Cobb Senior Wellness Center, 1150 Powder Springs St.;
Thursday, May 2, 7-9 p.m., Acworth Community Center, 4361 Cherokee St.;
Wednesday, May 8, 7-9 p.m., Ben Robertson Community Center, 2753 Watts Drive;
Thursday, May 9, 7-9 p.m., South Cobb Community Center, 620 Lions Club Drive.
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At around noon the National Weather Service in Atlanta expanded its flash flood watch to include Cobb County and other parts of the metro area until 7 p.m. Thursday.
Wednesday morning provided a bit of a respite from the rain, if not weather-related traffic issues, but more rain is expected tonight and Thursday.
The NWS said the areas with the most saturation from yesterday’s rain are above the I-20 and along the I-85 corridors.
The road has reopened, but there may be occasional lane closures to clear debris.
Original report, 8:15 AM:
This just in from Cobb government:
Paper Mill Road is closed between Woodlawn Drive and the Atlanta Country Club due to a downed tree.
Crews are on the scene for removal.
It’s among several downed trees affecting the morning commute around the county.
There were also reports that Willeo Road was closed at the Lower Roswell Road roundabout due to debris on road just over the Chattahoochee River in Roswell., but that area has also reopened to traffic.
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The I-75 Northwest Corridor Express Lanes will be closed to traffic for routine maintenance beginning 11:30 PM, Friday, February 15 until 11:30 AM, Saturday, February 16. The lanes will reopen in the southbound direction.
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UPDATED 2:28 P.M.: The intersection has reopened and traffic lights are “operating normally,” Cobb Police said.
ORIGINAL STORY, 2:02 P.M.:
This just in from Cobb Police: Traffic lights are out and power lines are down at Lower Roswell Road and Woodlawn Drive, and the intersection is closed for “at least 30 minutes” while repairs are made.
Cobb Fire and Cobb DOT are also on the scene.
Heavy rains swept through the East Cobb area after 1 p.m. Tuesday as a storm line was pulling through west and north Georgia for the rest of the afternoon.
Severe weather warnings have been posted for other parts of the state.
The rain is expected to continue into the evening in the Cobb area, with temperatures dipping into the mid 30s.
Wednesday will be sunny and colder, with highs in the low 50s. Rain will return on Thursday night.
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The Cobb County School District and Cobb government both sent messages out around noon Monday that they will be closed Tuesday, due to a winter storm that’s headed to metro Atlanta and north Georgia.
Their decisions came after Gov. Brian Kemp and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms held a joint news conference, announcing that state government in the storm area, as well as Georgia’s largest city, would be closing on Tuesday.
Other metro Atlanta governments and school districts also have announced closures for Tuesday, including Marietta City Schools.
State government offices in 35 counties, including Cobb, will be closed on Tuesday, according to Kemp.
The area is bracing for cold, wet weather starting later Monday evening and lasting through Tuesday night.
Monday afternoon, the NWS upgraded that status to a winter storm warning, including Cobb, from 3 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday. Travel could be hazardous due to snow and ice accumulations, including black ice.
Cobb schools spokeswoman Nan Kiel said the following in a statement:
“Knowing that it interrupts the school day and the education process, we did not make this decision lightly. However, given that our District serves more than 112,000 students and their families, as well as 18,000 staff members, and that the safety of our students and staff are paramount, we chose to act on the side of safety.
“The District will continue monitoring the situation, with an eye towards the condition of our roads, and we’ll be sure to update the community further by 5 pm Tuesday evening.”
All events and activities scheduled at schools also have been cancelled or postponed.
Cobb government spokesman Ross Cavitt said the county’s shutdown will begin at 6 a.m. Tuesday, and will reopen depending on when conditions improve. County Manager Rob Hosack said in a statement:
“With a great deal of uncertainty about the timing and amount of snow, we thought this proactive action would be best to ensure the safety of Cobb County workers.”
Cobb DOT crews will be on the job overnight and into Tuesday, Cavitt said, preparing equipment and pre-treating roads starting around sunrise.
Cavitt said the crews will work in 12-hour shifts until the weather event is over, using a salt-sand mixture to treat “known trouble-spots,” especially around curves and on bridges and overpasses.
Other closings
We’re compiling closings of other schools, businesses and organizations and any cancellations or postponements of events for Tuesday. E-mail us: editor@eastcobbnews.com with your information:
St. Catherine’s Episcopal preschool closed;
Catholic Church of St. Ann closed;
Transfiguration Catholic Church closed;
Wood Acres School closed;
Primrose School East Cobb closed;
Faith Lutheran School closed;
Mt. Bethel Christian Academy closed;
Orange Theory Fitness Sandy Plains and Marietta-East Cobb opening 3:30 p.m.;
Thrive Wellness Center closed;
Mt. Zion UMC closed;
Wesley Chapel UMC basketball cancelled;
Johnson Ferry Christian Academy closed;
Eastside Christian School closed;
The Walker School closed;
East Cobb Tutoring Center closed;
Mansouri Family Dental Care closed;
East Cobb and NE Cobb YMCA closing at 4 p.m. Tuesday, all group exercise programs before 4 are scheduled (subject to cancelletion), all paid programs are cancelled;
East Cobb Business Association Community Breakfast postponed;
MUST Ministries program centers in Marietta, Smyrna and Canton and main donation center closed;
All locations Marietta Eye Clinic closed, including Marietta Eye Surgery;
Dentistry at East Piedmont closing at 12 p.m.;
Olde Towne Athletic Club closed;
Weather forecast
The forecast calls for Cobb to get around an inch of snow, with temperatures reaching as high as the low 40s during the day on Tuesday, but dropping to around 20 degrees on Tuesday night.
Monday is the five-year anniversary of a winter storm that crippled metro Atlanta, stranding thousands of motorists and forcing some students, teachers and staff to shelter overnight in schools.
Monday is also the first full day of Super Bowl-related activities in the Atlanta area.
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