Starting Saturday morning, the two left lanes of I-85 southbound between

Ga. Highway 74 and I-285 will be closed for the beginning of an intensive

pavement repair project.

Weather permitting, the lanes will be closed beginning Saturday morning

at 9 a.m. through 5 a.m. Monday, according to officials with the Georgia

Department of Transportation.

During the week, the double lane closures will continue from 9 p.m. to 5

a.m. on weeknights, officials said. The weekend work schedule will be from

9 p.m. Friday until 5 a.m. Monday. The project has an estimated completion

date of late fall 2005.

Delays should be expected along the eight-mile stretch of Interstate; the

lane closures will be for no longer than two miles at a time, officials said.

Construction is not expected to begin on the northbound portion of the project

for several months, DOT officials said.

"Delays will happen from these lane closures, but this project is necessary

due to the level of pavement cracking and distress that is visible in this

area," said Mickey McGee, metro district construction engineer. "We

cannot overemphasize that motorists must plan their routes before getting

on the road and add some extra time to their commutes."

This section of the Interstate was built about 35 years ago, so some of

the lanes will require reconstruction, DOT officials said.

Motorists can stay up-to-date on the project by surfing to www.georgia-navigator.com

for construction updates. The site also offers MyNavigator, which provides

customized route information that can be downloaded to personal computers,

cell phones and PDAs. Construction information is also available 24 hours

a day by calling 1-888-419-GDOT (4368) or by dialing *DOT on Verizon, Cingular

or AT&T cell phones.