Weekend dinner or shopping trips to Conyers, The Mall at Stonecrest or Atlanta are about to get a little more complicated with a major road resurfacing project kicking off on Interstate 20 westbound that will close down two lanes this weekend and on future weekends.

CLOSURE THIS WEEKEND
The two left lanes on I-20 westbound from Almon Road (exit 88) to State Route 20/State Route 138 (exit 82) will be closed from 9 p.m. Friday through 5 a.m. Monday, and more weekend road closures will be coming in the future months.

WHY?
The work is the beginning of an $11.5-million resurfacing project between Alcovy Road (exit 92) to SR 20/SR 138. All lanes will have the old asphalt removed and replaced with new asphalt. Work will be done on both westbound and eastbound lanes.

District Construction Engineer Shun Pringle said that area of I-20 was last paved in 1988 and is “definitely in need of resurfacing.”

HOW LONG WILL WORK LAST?
The state’s contract with Pittman Construction gives the company until the end of the year with work expected to at least last throughout the summer and into the fall.

Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) spokesman Mark McKinnon said most of the work will be done at night on weekdays and on the weekends. No work will be done during any holiday weekends.

Future closures will be announced on a week-by-week basis.

ALTERNATE ROUTES
GDOT doesn’t have any recommended alternate routes, but McKinnon said drivers can visit 511ga.org or call 511 (non-cell phone users and out of state users have to dial -877-694-2511) to see if backups are severe enough to warrant an alternate route.