If you’re headed to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport over the next several days, you may need to allow some extra time to navigate detours that will disrupt traffic due to a construction project.
The closures start Saturday afternoon, when the Atlanta airport plans to close the Terminal South upper-level roadway for construction work, along with the ground transportation center at the west curbside, until the following morning. Terminal South is where Delta’s check-in area is located. The roadway is often used for travelers being dropped off for flights or picked up after arriving.
“Plan ahead and follow detour signs to avoid delays,” the airport said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The ground transportation center will close from 4 p.m. Saturday until 5 a.m. the following morning, while the South upper-level roadway will close from 5 p.m. Saturday until 5 a.m. the following morning.
Credit: Source: Hartsfield-Jackson
Credit: Source: Hartsfield-Jackson
Another closure of the Terminal South upper-level roadway is also planned starting Monday evening starting at 8:30 p.m. until 5 a.m. the next morning.
During the Saturday and Monday night closures, motorists can use the lower-level Terminal South roadway, or they can go to the Terminal North side of the airport building and walk across the inside of the terminal. On-airport parking shuttle pickups will be moved to the South lower level.
Then, the South lower-level roadway will be closed 8:30 p.m. on the nights of Tuesdayand Wednesday until 5 a.m. the following mornings.
During the Tuesday and Wednesday night closures, motorists can use the upper-level Terminal South roadway, or they can go to the Terminal North side of the airport building and walk across the inside of the terminal.
Those picking up passengers at the airport can also use the airport’s cell phone lot to wait for their friends or family to arrive, to reduce congestion at the curbside.
The roadways are being closed to allow for overnight work moving segments of a pedestrian bridge that will connect the domestic terminal to a new parking deck under construction.
The bridge will go over the roadway and is being installed “in a very tight location,” according to Tom Nissalke, assistant general manager of planning and development at Hartsfield-Jackson. As a result, large cranes will be used to set the pieces in place.
For motorists headed to the airport, “This is going to be a bit invasive,” Nissalke warned. “Definitely give yourself a little more time if you’re coming to the South side” of the airport.
“Hopefully we’re going to be reopening the impacted lanes by 8 a.m. the next day,” Nissalke said.
The ground transportation center at the west curbside is used for taxis, hotel shuttles and regional/local shuttles.
During the construction closure, there will be orange detour signs to follow to temporary locations. Taxis, hotel shuttles and local/regional shuttles will be moved to North curbside areas. Pickups for the terminal-to-terminal shuttle will be moved to the Rental Car Center, reachable by SkyTrain.
The huge construction site for the parking deck is visible to motorists driving in the area near the domestic terminal.
The new seven-level parking deck with 6,500 spaces will cost $530 million to build, will sit where the South economy lot used to be and is expected to be completed in 2026. It will serve as replacement parking when the existing South decks, which are more than 40 years old, are eventually demolished and rebuilt.
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