Back-to-back crashes near Hartsfield-Jackson slow morning commute

Commuters heading to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport early Thursday were met with back-to-back slowdowns on I-85 South.

A crash blocked all lanes just before Metropolitan Parkway around 4:45 a.m., the Georgia Department of Transportation reported. It was cleared by 5:40 a.m., just in time for another crash farther south of the airport at the Flat Shoals Road exit, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center.

By 7 a.m., all lanes were back open and traffic was recovering, even as volume on the roads was starting to build.

While police have not confirmed details of either incident, the Traffic Center reported that a big rig was stalled in the center lanes near Flat Shoals Road and had to be moved to the shoulder. The earlier incident involved a multi-vehicle collision followed by a single-vehicle crash, according to Atlanta police. No injuries were reported.