Azalea, Magnolia closings create confusion but traffic plan succeeds Monday

Closing Magnolia and Azalea drives off Washington Road created some confusion among Masters Tournament patrons, but city Traffic Engineer John Ussery said the city’s traffic plan went “OK” overall Monday.

“The weather was challenging today. This morning, everybody came in earlier than usual to beat the weather and then about 2:30 p.m. the Augusta National (Golf Club) called and told us they were going to close the course,” Ussery said.

The club suspended play for the day around 3:20 p.m. due to approaching thunderstorms and high winds, meaning all patrons had to leave.

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“It took us about two hours to get everybody out of the parking lots,” he said. “Considering we had almost every patron leaving at the same time, it’s not too bad. The sheriff’s offices ... I want to give them a lot of credit – they really helped out.”

The city and law enforcement continued the practice of converting Berckmans Road, which runs through the tournament patron parking area, to one-way northbound to route traffic to Washington Road or Alexander Drive when the majority of patrons are leaving.

Also returning this Masters Week is the practice of closing the Interstate 20 northbound Exit 199 at Washington Road, from around 7 to 10 a.m., to relieve congestion. Motorists are asked to use another I-20 exit, such as Exit 195 at Wheeler Road or Exit 200 at Riverwatch Parkway. From Riverwatch, some entering golf traffic is routed to Alexander Drive, which empties into Berckmans Road, while overflow traffic ►may◄might be diverted downtown to Calhoun Expressway then west to the golf club.

Although letters were sent and signs were erected, the closing of Magnolia and Azalea at Washington during the tournament caught a number of drivers by surprise, Ussery said.

“A lot of people probably didn’t get the information that it was closed, and we had to turn a lot of people around there, he said.

Those unaware included shuttles carrying patrons back and forth from the tournament and hospitality houses in the National Hills area, he said.

Tuesday the city will add extra signs and barricades to mark the closings, Ussery said.

Ussery advised to avoid Washington Road if possible, particularly when patrons are entering in the morning and leaving at the end of the day.

“If you know another way, go that way,” he said.

Heavy traffic also benefited Monday from the opening of an exit from Eisenhower Park directly onto Riverwatch Parkway. During Masters Week, the Georgia Department of Transportation opens a gate and allows access from the park directly to Riverwatch, he said.

Another Masters Tournament traffic tip from Ron Lampkin, city traffic operations manager, is to use signs, message boards and direction from law enforcement rather than GPS, which can direct motorists to roads impassible during the tournament.