Like most days ending in “y” in Atlanta, commuters were met with upheaval on the interstates Friday morning when a crash blocked I-285.
This time, it was a toppled tractor-trailer carrying butter that caused major delays for those trying to get to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Fortunately, none of the roughly 20 tons of butter was smeared on the interstate, but the southbound lanes of I-285 were shut down at the I-85 interchange for more than five hours while crews worked to clear the wreck.
The snafu happened around 4 a.m. and was one of two crashes to shut down I-285 at the start of the morning commute. The other, which blocked an exit ramp in DeKalb County, cleared by 7 a.m.
The big rig full of butter set out from California and was almost to its drop point when it hit a guardrail and overturned. It was on its side, sitting horizontally across the interstate, until a wrecker moved it to the shoulder about four hours into the ordeal.
While the butter was contained in its 76,000-pound metal tub, crews still had to clean up what appeared to be spilled fuel before lanes could reopen around 9:15 a.m.
The other tractor-trailer caused delays after it overturned on the I-285 South ramp to I-20 East around 5:20 a.m., according to the Georgia Department of Transportation. Several other crashes, including a third overturned big rig, were reported across metro Atlanta throughout the morning commute. But none caused extended full closures.
Police have not released information on what caused the wrecks or said if any injuries have been reported.
The dairy-laden truck is just the latest addition to the long list of weird things to cause calamity on Atlanta roads. The capital of the South is known for its routinely unbelievable traffic disruptions that include fiery bridges, runaway animals — including an escaped tiger and 10 dead cows, both separate incidents — and even a cash grab free-for-all after an armored truck’s doors flew open in 2019 and an estimated $175,000 in loose bills rained down on I-285.
Then there was the time a truck carrying a load of lumber collided with one carrying candles, resulting in a predictably massive fireball and 10 miles of literal logjam. Most recently, a healthy baby was welcomed to the world on the side of I-285 amid the morning rush earlier this month.
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