Friday Closings and Schedules: Final Update

And for clarity, we are also including announcements that major institutions will be both open and closed on Friday.

Final Update (incorporating previous updates), 8:25 p.m.

K-12 Schools

• Atlanta Public Schools:  closed on Friday; operations personnel are to report
• Cherokee County Schools:  closed on Friday
• Clayton County Schools:  closed Friday
• Cobb County Schools:  closed on Friday; employees are asked to report as conditions allow
• City of Decatur Schools:  closed on Friday
• DeKalb County Schools:  closed on Friday; 12-month employees are to report at 10:00 a.m.
• Douglas County Schools:  closed on Friday; 240-day employees are asked to report as conditions allow
• Fayette County Schools:  closed on Friday; faculty and staff asked to report by 11:00 a.m.
• Forsyth County Schools:  closed on Friday; after-school athletic activities will resume Friday afternoon
• Fulton County Schools:  closed on Friday
• Gwinnett County Schools:  will re-open on Friday 
• Henry County Schools:  Students off on Friday; faculty and staff are to report to work at 11:00 a.m.
• Marietta City Schools:  closed on Friday

Colleges and Universities

• Clark Atlanta University:  open on Friday
• Clayton State University:  all campuses closed on Friday; faculty and staff should report by 11:00 a.m.
• Emory University:  open on Friday
• Georgia Gwinnett College:  open on Friday
• Georgia Perimeter College:  open on Friday
• Georgia State University:  open on Friday
• Georgia Tech:  open on Friday
• Kennesaw State University:  closed on Friday
• Morehouse College:  open on Friday
• Southern Polytechnic State University:  closed on Friday
• Spelman College:  open on Friday
• University of Georgia:  open on Friday
• University of West Georgia:  open on Friday

Local and State Government Offices

• Alpharetta:  open regular hours on Friday
• Atlanta:  city offices open Friday; municipal court will also open
• Clayton County:  open at 8:00 a.m. on Friday
• Cobb County:  open regular hours Friday
• College Park:  open at 8:00 a.m. on Friday
• Decatur:  open regular hours on Friday
• DeKalb County:  open regular hours on Friday
• Douglas County:  open on Friday
• Fulton County:  will resume normal operations at 10:00 a.m. Friday
• Georgia Department of Labor:  all GDOL Career Centers will reopen Friday, but opening times will vary by location
• Georgia State Government:  most offices will be open regular hours on Friday
• Gwinnett County:  county offices will be open regular hours Friday
• Marietta City:  will be open regular hours Friday
• Roswell:  city offices will be open regular hours Friday; Parks and Recreation centers will open at noon

Update 5:45 p.m.

Gwinnett County Schools:  Gwinnett students go back to school tomorrow.  The county schools will be open on Friday and all students, faculty and staff are to report on their regular schedule.

Update 5:40 p.m.

Henry County Schools:  students get another day off from school on Friday in Henry Co., but all faculty and staff are asked to report to work at 11:00 a.m.

Update 5:10 p.m.

Douglas County Schools:  schools in Douglas Co. will be closed Friday.

DeKalb County Schools Addendum:  we reported earlier that the schools will be closed, but we have learned that 12-month employees have been asked to report at 10:00 a.m.

Update 4:45 p.m.

DeKalb County Schools:  the DeKalb school system will be closed on Friday.

Spelman College:  Spelman will be open tomorrow.

University of North Georgia:  all UNG campuses will return to their regular schedules tomorrow.

Atlanta:  the Atlanta Police Department says that it will waive all impound fees for cars towed as a result of the winter storm.

Update 3:55 p.m.

In addition to Emory University, Georgia Tech and Georgia State have announced they will also be open on Friday.  The University of Georgia opened at 11:00 a.m. this morning and will be open tomorrow.

Georgia Perimeter College and Georgia Gwinnett College have said they will be open Friday.

Update 3:30 p.m.

Marietta City Schools:  the Marietta school system will be closed on Friday.

Atlanta Public Schools:  the second annual APS Technology Fair has been rescheduled to Saturday, February 8 at a location not yet determined.

Emory University:  Emory announced that it will be open on Friday.

Forsyth County Schools:  Forsyth Co. says it will not be making a decision about whether to close its schools on Friday until sometime this evening.

Atlanta Symphony:  We want to correct an earlier mistake.  We listed the ASO’s Friday concert as being canceled, but that was wrong.  Tonight’s concert is canceled, but Friday’s and Saturday’s concerts are still on.

Update 2:10 p.m.

Cherokee County Schools:  the Cherokee Co. school system will be closed Friday.

Cobb County Schools:  the Cobb Co. schools will be closed on Friday. Staff is asked to report as conditions allow.  Also, the Cobb Board of Education meeting scheduled for tonight (January 30) has been rescheduled to February 3.

Update 1:25 p.m.

Atlanta Public Schools Closed Friday:  APS will be closed on Friday, January 31, according to superintendent Erroll Davis. Likewise, all extracurricular activities have been canceled. Operations personnel are asked to report on Friday.

Update 12:30 p.m.

MARTA Update:  MARTA says that their plans to run a limited number of bus routes in addition to rail are working.  We have posted MARTA’s list of today’s operating bus routes complete with update.

They did note that two of the bus routes have specific problems due to ice:

• 19-Clairmont Road [UPDATE: Buses are currently unable to service the loop at the VA Hospital on Clairmont Road due to ice. All buses are continuing northbound on Clairmont Road.]
• 71-Cascade Road [UPDATE: Buses are turning back at Kimberly Mill Road due to icy conditions.]

ASO:  the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra has canceled its concert scheduled for Friday evening, January 31.

Update 10:25 a.m.

Fairburn:  the Fairburn community meeting on the county’s comprehensive plan that was scheduled for tonight has been rescheduled to February 13.

Update 10:10 a.m.

Xpress bus service:  the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA) says the Xpress bus service will not be operating today.  All offices, ticket windows, and the customer service call center are also closed.  GRTA hopes the buses will be back in operation tomorrow.

Duluth: all non-emergency Duluth city offices will open at 1:00 p.m. this afternoon.

Marietta:  Marietta City Hall will open at noon today.

Update 9:30 a.m.

All Georgia state government offices in areas affected by the winter storm are closed today.

The Georgia DOT  is going to help you retrieve your abandoned car.  Here is an excerpt from their announcement:

Vehicles Left Along the Interstates

GDOT has partnered with Metro Atlanta towing companies to assist in moving abandoned vehicles to the roadway shoulders. Beginning today, Georgia State Patrol (GSP) , National Guard and Georgia DOT HEROs will transport motorists to vehicles abandoned on the interstate during the recent storm.

Two staging areas for transport will open at 10AM:

• Drivers who left their vehicle on I-20 and I-285 west should report to the Westlake MARTA station (parking area), 80 Anderson Ave. SW, Atlanta.
• Drivers who left their vehicle on I-75, the top end of I-285 and the Downtown Connector (I-75/I-85) should report to Mount Paran Church (parking area), 2055 Mount Paran Road, Atlanta.

GSP will have a database to help motorists locate their vehicle if it was towed to an impound lot and provide transportation to the facility. Motorists should bring car keys and driver’s license to check-in.

  Update 9:15 a.m.

DeKalb County has released a list of road closures in the county (right).

Initial Update as of 8:32 a.m. 

K-12 School Closings on Thursday, January 30.

• Atlanta Public Schools
• Cherokee County Schools
• Clayton County Schools
• Cobb County Schools
• DeKalb County Schools
• Douglas County Schools
• Forsyth County Schools
• Fulton County Schools
• Gwinnett County Schools
• Henry County Schools

Colleges and Universities

• Agnes Scott College
• Clayton State University
• Clark Atlanta University
• Emory University
• Georgia Gwinnett College
• Georgia State University
• Georgia Tech
• Kennesaw State University
• Morehouse College
• Southern Polytechnic State University
• Spelman College
• University of North Georgia: Oconee Campus will operate on a normal schedule; the Cumming, Dahlonega, and Gainesville campuses will open at 11:00 a.m.  Students, faculty and staff are urged to “use their personal judgment” regarding travel to campus.
• University of Georgia: says it will make a determination about opening on Thursday no later than 6:30 a.m. tomorrow morning
• University of West Georgia

  Transit Operations and Major Road Closings

• MARTA: MARTA will be providing modified service today. Rail service is running and will operate until 1:30 a.m. tomorrow morning. Rail wait times are 15-30 minutes. Bus service will resume at 8:00 a.m. for a subset of 27 selected routes. Bus service will end at 11:30 p.m. tonight. We have posted a list of the bus routes and rail schedules.
• Cobb Community Transit: CCT will begin bus service at noon today. Express bus service will not run today.
• Gwinnett County Transit: GCT will begin local bus service at noon today, subject to conditions. There will be no express bus service today.
• Gwinnett County: Ronald Reagan Parkway remains closed until further notice.
• Georgia 400: Georgia Navigator was reporting at 8:15 a.m. that all lanes of southbound Georgia 400 were closed at I-285 due to icy road conditions. It is not clear when the road will be opened.

Government Offices and Related Facilities

• Atlanta Judicial Circuit Courts: Superior, State, Juvenile, Magistrate, and Probate courts
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: all Atlanta campuses
• City of Decatur: government buildings will open at noon on Thursday. Trash pickup will resume at 10 AM. The Recreation Center will close early, and all scheduled activities for tonight are canceled.
• DeKalb County: all county offices will be closed on Thursday and will return to regular operations on Friday. Payroll functions will occur “without delay.”  Owners of abandoned cars that were towed during and after the storm will not incur towing fees.
• Douglas County: all county offices and libraries will be closed today.
• Fulton County: all Fulton County offices will be closed today.
• Georgia General Assembly: both houses of the Legislature will be closed today.
• Gwinnett County: the county says it plans to have its offices running on a normal schedule today beginning at 8:00 a.m., but that individual offices may remain closed. Residents should call ahead to any office to make sure it is open. Senior service home-delivered meals will be delayed two hours.

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