UA fans may face delays

University of Alabama football fans attending the Crimson Tide's season opener against Clemson should prepare for travel delays because of major interstate construction in Atlanta over the Labor Day weekend.

Construction will be on a section of the interstate known as the downtown connector, where southbound I-75 and I-85 merge. The work, which will begin at 9 p.m. Friday and continue until 5 a.m. Tuesday, will cause severe delays in downtown and midtown Atlanta, said Georgia Department of Transportation spokeswoman Crystal Paulk-Buchanan.

The delays will affect fans attending the game, which kicks off at 7 p.m. Central time Saturday in the Georgia Dome, as well as the pre-game festivities in nearby Centennial Olympic Park.

Paulk-Buchanan said the construction should not have as much of an impact on motorists from Tuscaloosa and West Alabama who are going directly to the game because they will be entering the city on I-20 East and can exit to the Georgia Dome without getting on I-75/85. Everyone attending the game, however, should allow for extra travel time.

Fans who plan to arrive early and who will be traveling in midtown and downtown Atlanta should prepare for extreme congestion. Fans staying in hotels in the Dunwoody/Perimeter area, Buckhead, midtown and downtown should use MARTA, Atlanta's transit system, to get to the game. MARTA has stations convenient to those areas and one adjacent to the Georgia Dome that connects to all directions. The cost is $1.75 each way.

Pre-game activities in Centennial Olympic Park include ESPN's live broadcast of College Gameday at 9 a.m. Central time and the College Kickoff FanZone, which runs from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission to both events is free.

Construction southbound on Interstate 85 between Atlanta and the Alabama state line also could slow drivers as they return to Montgomery and south Alabama.