Yesterday we snapped this of the soon-to-open 17th Street exit ramp just as rain began to fall. (That's Midtown Heights in the background.) The weather shot is appropriate because Georgia DOT?s Crystal Paulk-Buchanan tells us Atlanta's rain fall slowed the project. The current timeline: Crews are erecting signs at night, stripes will be painted between 10th and the Brookwood Split this weekend and the new ramp will open by May 31. Northbound travelers who look closely already will see a 17th Street Midtown exit sign, though it's under cover.

The ramp is the final piece in the $88.5 million  interstate construction project in Midtown dubbed the ?14th Street Bridge Improvement Project.? The purpose has been to relieve congestion at the interchange caused by Midtown developments, particularly Atlantic Station. Also, the old pedestrian environment along 14th Street did not meet Community Improvement District standards. The improved bridge, which we snapped when it opened last summer, has two new exit ramps from the interstate: southbound to 10th Street (already open) and northbound to 17th. C. W. Matthews Contracting of Marietta is the contractor.