Drivers likely breathed a collective sigh of relief after work crews were able to quickly clear a hanging sign that caused a five-mile traffic backup on I-85 Wednesday afternoon.
The incident in south Fulton County caused major traffic delays just days after similar circumstances snarled traffic for hours on the Perimeter.
In order to fix the sign, officials began closing northbound lanes on I-85 near Union City, just north of Flat Shoals Road, about 12:30 p.m., according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center. Georgia Department of Transportation officials told Channel 2 Action News that a large commercial truck hit the sign, causing it to hang down.
A bucket truck arrived on the scene to resolve the issue as the sign was hanging over travel lanes. Traffic backed up for miles behind the work crew as all lanes were closed, the Traffic Center said.
However, traffic resumed with all lanes reopened about 2:45 p.m. — a relatively short closure, especially when compared to the week’s earlier traffic disasters.
The delays on I-85 were strikingly similar to the circumstances that caused major traffic delays Monday on I-285. A tanker truck crashed on the Perimeter, causing an overhead sign to fall and spill fuel across the travel lanes in DeKalb County, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported. The delays lasted nearly seven hours.
Atlanta’s traffic nightmares continued Tuesday when another tanker truck spilled fuel across I-85 near Spaghetti Junction, the AJC reported. The crash took place in the early morning and caused delays that lasted nearly 13 hours as GDOT crews were forced to repave a section of the highway. The traffic shutdown at one of the city’s busiest interchanges spanned both the morning and evening commutes.
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