Prepare yourself for ‘traffic interruptions’ this week on busy roadway in Columbus

Residents and business people driving along a stretch of Veterans Parkway in north Columbus this week need to be aware of “traffic interruptions” that will cause delays in the area, the Georgia Department of Labor warned Monday.

Penny Brooks, District 3 communication officers with the state agency, said via email that one of the lanes on Veterans Parkway from Old Moon Road to Hancock Road will be closed from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. between Tuesday and Friday.

Work on traffic signals is the reason for the lane closures, the agency said, with motorists expected to encounter flag crews directing them safely through the affected area.

“Motorists are advised to expect delays, exercise caution and reduce their speed while traveling through work zones,” Brooks said in the traffic alert.

The portion of Veterans Parkway that will experience the traffic interruptions is the stretch that has been a construction zone for several years to widen it to multiple lanes. This spring, the Georgia Department of Transportation said the $14.2 million project should be completed by late summer after paving is wrapped up.

Columbus-based McMath-Turner Construction is the general contractor for the project, which received notice from the transportation department to proceed in October 2014.

The construction zone includes three schools — Northside High, Veterans Memorial Middle and North Columbus Elementary — as well as an increasing amount of residential housing to include apartment complexes. Some residents of Harris County also travel along the parkway each day for work or shopping, with the entire mix of uses creating traffic congestion in the mornings and late afternoons.

This story was originally published September 17, 2018 at 3:26 PM.