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Traffic headache awaits Gainesville motorists today
DOT says steer cleer of asphalt work at Jesse Jewell-E.E. Butler intersection
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Traffic waits on the light to change as trucks make a left turn onto E.E. Butler Parkway from Jesse Jewell Parkway in August. - photo by Erin O. Smith

On a good day, one of the busiest intersections in Gainesville is at Jesse Jewell and E.E. Butler parkways.

Traffic could get downright gnarly today as a Georgia Department of Transportation maintenance crew plans to replace damaged asphalt 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

DOT District spokeswoman Teri Pope said motorists should avoid the area.

“Lanes will be affected all day,” she said. “Extreme delays are expected.”

The work can’t be done overnight “because we can’t get someone to make asphalt overnight,” Pope said.

And asphalt can’t be made away from the location during the day and hauled in for overnight patching.

The material “is temperature sensitive,” Pope said. “It needs to be 325-350 degrees, so it can’t be hauled a long way to reach the work zone or it cools off too much.”

“The Gainesville Police Department will assist with traffic movement, but motorists are encouraged to use other routes if possible,” states a city of Gainesville press release.