Sandy Springs police deploy traffic response vehicles to help clear traffic along I-285

SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. - Most motorists in metro Atlanta have heard the warnings: avoid the north end of the Perimeter along Interstate 285. The Georgia Department of Transportation will be doing construction work for the next eight months. Sandy Springs police are trying to help drivers avoid traffic nightmares that could pop up.

The siren blares, lights flash and Sandy Springs police take off down I-285. Sgt. Matt McGinnis says the department’s two traffic response vehicles are equipped to handle any number of incidents. They operate like HERO units, patrolling the Perimeter from the Chattahoochee River to Ashford-Dunwoody Road, ready to help drivers on the highway.

"The truck responds to any kind of traffic emergency," Sgt. McGinnis said. "If a car stalls, we’ll come pull you out of the way if it needs to be pushed out. These vehicles can push them out of the way. We move accidents. It’s designed and set up to assist traveling motorist from anything they might have from running out of gas, blown tire to pushing their car out of the roadway."

(Georgia Department of Transportation)

Sgt. McGinnis and Officer Chase Combs took FOX 5 for a ride-along as GDOT construction crews worked on the north end of I-285 from Ashford-Dunwoody to Roswell Road. GDOT warns of potential traffic chaos over the next eight months.

"That’s a lot of congestion going from multiple lanes down to three lanes," Sgt. McGinnis said "It can get bad. It doesn’t take but one accident, someone not paying attention, looking at their cell phone rather than looking at the road, it can cause a definite nightmare out there."

Police hit heavy traffic, there is no shoulder, but cars part like the Red Sea as they hear the sirens.

"It’s challenging on multiple fronts. But the biggest one is trying to keep people safe. We’re managing as best we can," McGinnis said.

So far, McGinnis says, traffic hasn’t been that bad. The traffic response vehicles operate from 6 in the morning until 10 at night.

Police urge drivers to download traffic apps to get around potential messes along I-285.