All lanes of I-285 on the west side have reopened after police investigated a suspicious packages that closed the interstate in both directions for nearly an hour.

According to Atlanta police dispatchers, a suspicious black backpack was spotted just before 10 a.m. along the median wall of I-285 southbound between Hollowell Parkway and I-20.

Police closed all lanes in both directions, but the northbound lanes reopened about 11 a.m. Southbound lanes reopened a few minutes later.

The Atlanta police Bomb Squad was on the scene, but police have not yet said what was in the backpack.

Southbound traffic was jammed back to Atlanta Road, while northbound traffic slowed at Cascade Road before police reopened the interstate.

Return to ajc.com for updates.

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Fulton DA Fani Willis (center) with Nathan J. Wade (right), the special prosecutor she hired to manage the Trump case and had a romantic relationship with, at a news conference announcing charges against President-elect Donald Trump and others in Atlanta, Aug. 14, 2023. Georgia’s Supreme Court on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, upheld an appeals court's decision to disqualify Willis from the election interference case against Trump and his allies. (Kenny Holston/New York Times)

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