SAVANNAH, Ga. — Drivers heading into downtown Savannah, Georgia, on Saturday morning should plan for detours, because the Southern Half and its companion 5K will take over a long list of city streets.
Organizers expect roughly 8,000 runners in the event, now in its second year. Both races begin at 7 a.m., and both start and finish in Forsyth Park, close to where Drayton meets Huntingdon. Longer-distance runners will pass through the city center, a string of residential neighborhoods and even Historic Grayson Stadium along the way.
The earliest and longest closure is on Drayton from Park Avenue to Gaston, blocked for 12 hours starting at 3 in the morning. Farther south, the stretch of Drayton from Gaston to Taylor stays blocked from 6:30 in the morning until 7:30 at night.
A three-hour window, 6:30 to 9:30 a.m., covers the west and center of the course. That includes the Gwinnett Street intersection with Martin Luther King Boulevard, Gwinnett from Montgomery to Stiles, Stiles from Louisville Road up to Gwinnett, Park Avenue from Montgomery over to Bull, Montgomery from Broughton down to Park Avenue, Barnard from Park Avenue to Henry, and Bull from Park Avenue to 37th.
On the southeast side, closures last from 7 to 11 a.m. on Washington Avenue from Habersham to Bee, on Atlantic Avenue from Henry to Baldwin Circle, and on Paulsen from 41st to Washington. Downtown, Broughton from Lincoln to Montgomery reopens early, at 8:15 a.m., after closing at 6:30.
Race organizers said intersections will reopen in stages as the pack moves through each part of the course, rather than holding an entire section of the city closed for the full five hours.
Drivers are urged to check the closure list, choose another route and leave extra time. After the races, runners and spectators can stay for a finish festival in Forsyth Park.
Filed under: Hilton Head Island SC Traffic News
