MACON, Ga. — Right now, the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) is monitoring road conditions as Hurricane Milton makes its way to the Florida coast.
They say overnight traffic remains high and the most congested area is around McDonough.
Many Floridians are stopping here in Central Georgia to sleep, eat, and fill up on gas. Joan and Gary Perotti drove from North Port, Florida through Georgia to go to Chicago. They said they left around 3 a.m. Wednesday.
"We were going to stay put this time, but too many friends kept texting and they were all worried and our family so we said we'll leave to make them feel better," Joan Perotti said.
Joan Perotti told 13WMAZ that one of her friends left earlier from Tampa and it took them 12 hours to get through Florida. Tim Holladay and his wife are from Indian Shores, Florida. He says he took the backroads but his journey to Georgia was different.
"We've been evacuated twice now. First from Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton," Holladay said.
Holladay says the original plan was to stop in Jacksonville. When they were told to evacuate from there Wednesday morning, they decided to head to Atlanta because they have season passes to the University of Georgia Football game.
"I guess we'll go to the Mississippi State game now. We didn't plan on doing that but this is what's happening," Holladay said.
Gina Snyder with GDOT says traffic on I-75 is two or three times the normal. The good news is that traffic is down a lot since Monday and Tuesday. She says the best way to track road conditions is through their 511 app.
"It is a great app. It tells you traffic in real-time, you can pull up our cameras, you can see all the incidents and crashes that may have happened, and it gets you there quicker. It gives you alternate routes if there is a crash that you need to you know, avoid a certain area but still need to get to where you are going. It is just a great resource to get to where you need to go through. And the app entails all of the states interstates and state routes," Snyder said.
GDOT also recommends you have emergency supplies with you, check your car for maintenance, and know Georgia driving laws.
The Perotti's and Holladay's hope their homes will be ok when they return.