The morning commute out of the northeastern suburbs was brought to a standstill Wednesday after a multivehicle wreck spilled diesel fuel on the southbound lanes of I-85.
The wreck, which involved two tractor-trailers and two other vehicles, shut down the lanes before Beaver Ruin Road at about 5:45 a.m. and was not cleared until nearly three hours later. Motorists were stuck in the backups for miles stretching back to Ga. 316.
WATCH: RED ALERT - Tractor-trailer crash shuts down I-85 in #Gwinnett County - https://t.co/pgGxhRnZTP pic.twitter.com/cSHioHraQq
— John Spink (@johnjspink) October 5, 2022
No one was injured, according to Gwinnett County police spokesperson Officer Hideshi Valle. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
🔴GRIDLOCK ALERT 8:00a Norcross: After being stuck for 2 1/2 hrs the first motorists are being put in HOT Lane as crash clean up continues I-85/sb before Beaver Ruin Rd (Exit 102). #ATLtraffic @wsbradio #skycopter @wsbtv #captncam pic.twitter.com/JQYpDn3HcS
— Mark McKay (@mckayWSB) October 5, 2022
The fuel spill was to blame for the lengthy closure, Valle said. Until police opened a high-occupancy toll lane at 8 a.m., southbound I-85 was a parking lot. For much of the morning, one big rig with significant front-end damage was sitting horizontal across the travel lanes after crashing into a median wall.
Credit: John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com
Credit: John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com
The shutdown impacted “pretty much everybody in Gwinnett County north of Norcross,” WSB 24-hour Traffic Center reporter Mike Shields said. Even after the lanes reopened at 8:35 a.m., delays remained on I-85 for the rest of the morning drive.
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