ATLANTA — It’s back-to-school season and that means back to more congested traffic on your morning and afternoon commutes.

But Triple Team Traffic points out that busy times, trends, and trouble spots are not the same as they were in previous years.

Christina Okolo lives in metro Atlanta and said she’s noticed.

“Traffic is just progressively getting worse, and our roads are still staying the same,” she said.

She isn’t wrong. Channel 2 Action News went through data provided by the Georgia Department of Revenue. Since 2021, there are 165,873 more registered vehicles in Georgia.

Even since 2022, the state has added 55,198 cars to the road.

Broken down by county, Gwinnett County added the most with 16,372 more registered vehicles since the end of 2022. Fulton and Cherokee counties closely followed.

Henry County added a little more than 1-thousand vehicles. DeKalb, Cobb, and Clayton counties all have fewer registrations.

Georgia Department of Transportation spokesperson Natalie Dale told Shields that the impacts during the morning and evening rush hours are far less predictable than they used to be.

“The commute might never be the same, you know, from day to day. It’s not dependable anymore,” Dale said.

A large part of that issue is not only volume but post-COVID work trends.

GDOT and Georgia Commute Options estimate employers are requiring workers to be at the office now, two to three days a week.

“It was robust during the pandemic, but a lot of businesses are going back to the office,” Dale said. “Don’t be in traffic when you don’t have to be in traffic. That sounds so simplistic. Check with your WSB traffic team, check Waze.”

Using all of your tools each day will keep drivers on top of changing conditions due to traffic jams, crashes, construction, or other unpredictable obstacles.

Dale also updated Shields on the Transform 285/400 project that has been ongoing for years in Sandy Springs.

“It is close to completion but still a very active construction zone,” Dale said.

Once work wraps, crews will repave the area and fix any potholes. It should be fully clear in 2024.

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