Governor Kemp - State of Emergency
ATLANTA — Governor Kemp declared a State of Emergency on Friday morning ahead of the winter storm as the state prepares for another winter weather system this weekend.
Posting on X, he said, “With back-to-back winter storms, we’re not taking any days off when it comes to keeping Georgians prepared and safe.”
The National Weather Service has extended the winter storm warning to include the counties of Fulton, Cobb, Gwinnett, and DeKalb.
Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) Prepares for the Storm
The Georgia Department of Transportation is preparing for the approaching snowstorm by pre-treating roads with brine.
GDOT’s Natalie Dale says they have a lot of ground to cover with this storm.
“We have crews activated from southeast Georgia, so Brunswick, Savannah, all the way up to the northeast corner. Then we go all the way across to the northwest corner,” reports Dale.
The DOT treated about 18,000 lane miles with last week’s storm, but Dale says they may almost double that number this week.
Starting Friday evening through Saturday morning, GDOT is closing the I-85 Express Lanes are on I-85 in Gwinnett County, from Chamblee Tucker Road (just south of I-285) to Old Peachtree Road.
It also includes the I-85 Extension Express Lanes, which begins north of the existing I-85 Express Lanes at Old Peachtree Road and extends to Hamilton Mill Road.
All Peach Pass Retail Centers at Department of Driver Services will be closed and will resume normal operating hours on Tuesday, February 3.
The Georgia Express Lanes will close at the following times:
- I-75 NWC Express Lanes – closed in both directions as of 9:00 PM (Friday evening)
- I-75 South Metro Express Lanes – closed in both directions as of 10:30 PM (Friday evening)
- I-85 Express Lanes – closed in both directions as of 12:00 midnight (early Saturday morning)
GDOT will reopen all express lanes once conditions are confirmed to be clear and safe for travel.
As Gwinnett County prepares for the winter storm, chairwoman Nicole Love Hendrickson issued a local emergency. It follows Gov. Kemp declaring a State of Emergency in Georgia.
The local declaration activates certain emergency powers under the Gwinnett County emergency management ordinance and allows for the use of all available county resources to address the storm’s impact.