This is what Atlanta rush-hour traffic looks like amid coronavirus restrictions

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A trip from downtown to Buckhead, and back, illustrates the impact of workplace changes

By Josh Green@JoshGreen1234 Mar 16, 2020, 8:04pm EDT

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A scene of a roadway in a large city with buildings around, and a few green trees. — Lenox Road in Buckhead, 5:59 p.m. Monday.

If there’s a silver lining to COVID-19 concerns, it’s that Atlanta suddenly resembles a functional city at rush hour.

Both morning and evening rush hours Monday saw commuters traveling the Connector, the notoriously clogged convergence of interstates 75 and 85 through the heart of Atlanta, with relative ease, as restrictions related to the novel coronavirus took hold.

In fact, a trip from south of downtown to the northern reaches of Buckhead—and back—took less than a half hour, beginning in the 5 o’ clock hour, as is illustrated below.

Any less traffic-clogged, and you might call this a ghost town.

A scene of a roadway in a large city with buildings around, and a few green trees. — The merging of interstates 20 and 75/85 downtown, headed north at about 5:50 p.m. Monday.

A scene of a roadway in a large city with buildings around, and a few green trees. — Northbound through downtown Atlanta.

A scene of a roadway in a large city with buildings around, and a few green trees. — Almost no brake lights to be seen through the heart of Midtown.

A scene of a roadway in a large city with buildings around, and a few green trees. — Branching north on I-85 toward Buckhead.

A scene of a roadway in a large city with buildings around, and a few green trees. — A virtually empty Ga. Highway 400 entering Buckhead.

A scene of a roadway in a large city with buildings around, and a few green trees. — Southbound on Ga. Highway 400 near Lindbergh. Georgia Department of Transportation signs estimated the drive to Midtown at four minutes from here—at about 6 p.m. on a weekday.

A scene of a roadway in a large city with buildings around, and a few green trees. — Approaching Midtown, southbound.

A scene of a roadway in a large city with buildings around, and a few green trees. — Back to downtown’s flowing traffic.

A scene of a roadway in a large city with buildings around, and a few green trees. — Near Grady Memorial Hospital, the Corey Tower relays a simple message to Connector travelers: “Wash Your Hands.”