rush hour will be bad no matter what and worse if there's an accident. Otherwise, I'd take 285 around if you can. If you have an app, you can check for construction or accidents. You can also check Georgia 511 for both.

I know parts of 285 have construction but I don't know which way you'll be going. Are you traveling southbound?

I've had a lot of success having it tell me about construction. If you aren't here during rush hour, just go straight through town. No tolls. There's a hot lane but you need a pass for that.

It (section of the road) should turn orange or red depending on the severity. Then you click on it and it will tell you what the problem is (accident report or construction).

Trucks are required to take that route around Atlanta and it is almost always a nightmare....at least for me. I avoid it whenever possible.

285 is awful! I only use it if I am going to get on 20 heading towards Ala. 85 is iffy but if you use a phone app or call 511 to wrecks on it, it can be pretty fast other than rush hours. Some slowing as you get into downtown Atlanta, but usually still moves, just at a slower pace.

If you can hit it between around 10AM and noon you should be able to go straight through on 85 without too much trouble (barring a wreck of course).

Also, have you looked at typical traffic for various times on google maps? That's usually a pretty good indicator of what it'll be like.

(And wave to me as you go through downtown, I'll likely be at Georgia Tech moving my son out of his dorm when you're driving through.)