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).
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.
