Major DeKalb road to close for 3 months for bridge replacement. What drivers need to know

A busy stretch of North Druid Hills Road will shut down for the next three months starting Friday.

The Georgia Department of Transportation is replacing an old bridge between I-85 and Buford Highway, sending drivers on a five-mile detour.

We’re LIVE with a look at what drivers can expect for their commute, on Channel 2 Action News This Morning.

Channel 2′s Bryan Mims got a look at the bridge in Brookhaven as crews worked on the final preparations.

Workers will tear down and replace the bridge over North Peachtree Fork Creek with a wider one. The current bridge has been in place for 62 years.

The businesses next to the work site, like a gas station and the LUV car wash, will still be accessible from North Druid Hills Road.

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Drivers were not happy about the project.

“I know how much traffic comes through that corridor. For three months? That’s terrible for commuters. It’s terrible for people trying to get into the city and get into Buckhead from here,” Josiah Oakley said.

The DOT said shutting the road down for three months is the most efficient way to get the job done.

“Ninety days of a full closure, that allows us to do it quickly,” Natalie Dale with GDOT said. “That allows us to get it complete, get out of the road so that traffic can get moving in that area again.”

Aisha Johnson won’t be able to drive straight through on her way to work. She’ll have to follow the detour along Buford Highway, which she worries will become traffic-clogged.

“I guess we’ll make it some kind of way,” Johnson said. “I’m just glad I know the back roads. And people need to learn the back roads.”