To ease the stresses of the holiday season the Georgia Department of Transportation announced the suspension of construction-related lane closures on heavily traveled interstate highways and state routes near major shopping areas and tourist locations starting today (December 23rd) at 5 a.m. to Dec. 27 at 5 a.m. for the Christmas holiday.

The same restrictions are also in place for the New Year’s holiday from Dec. 31 at 5 a.m. to Jan. 2 at 6 a.m. These statewide lane restrictions allow reduced traffic congestion during the holidays.

While construction related lane closures will be suspended, the department reminds travelers to exercise caution as crews may still work near highways, and safety concerns may require some long-term lane closures to remain in place. Incident management or emergency, maintenance-related lane closures could also become necessary at any time on any route.