Weird things that have snarled Atlanta traffic

Metro Atlanta

Photos: Weird things that have snarled Atlanta traffic

You never know what's going to block Atlanta's interstates. Here are a few examples of bizarre items accidently dumped into Atlanta traffic

You never know what's going to disrupt Atlanta's traffic. On May 16, 2018, a tractor-trailer hauling 19 cows overturned on I-75 South in Cobb County at 5 a.m., killing seven of the animals. The surviving 12 roamed the highway until crews could herd them to the side as the crash was cleaned up. The wreck closed traffic until 7 a.m. (John Spink / jspink@ajc.com)

The Pause That Refreshes (July 28, 2020): Authorities shut down the southbound Downtown Connector ramp to I-20 East after a truck hauling cans of Coca-Cola overturned early Tuesday morning, spilling cans of the Real Thing onto the pavement and adding life to the morning commute. (Atlanta Fire Rescue Department)

Vidalia onions (March 21, 2020): A tractor-trailer carrying a load of Vidalia onions on Ga. 316 near Buford Drive crashed into another truck and caught fire. The eastbound lanes of Ga. 316 were shut down for about four hours as crews cleared the wreckage. (Lawrenceville Police Department)

10,000 pounds of dynamite (Sept. 10, 2019): A truck carrying the volatile load overturned on Ga. 53 in Dawson County just west of Lake Lanier. The wreck involved at least four vehicles and closed the highway for hours as a hazmat unit worked to clean up the scene.

A trotting turkey (Dec. 14, 2018): Traffic was forced to slow down to allow the large bird to slowly make its way across four lanes of southbound traffic on Ga. 400 at Holcomb Road during the morning rush hour. It's believed that the bird crossed the road to prove it wasn't chicken. (Channel 2 Action News)

Printer ink (March 20, 2019): I-285 southbound lanes were stained with delays after a a truck hauling 5,500 gallons (40,000 pounds) of ink overturned before Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. (Photos of a black ink spill at night look pretty much as you'd expect.) The Perimeter southbound lanes on the Westside remained closed for four hours as crews spread sand and sopped up the spill. Everything was back to normal—albeit a little sticky—by 6:30 a.m. (Channel 2 Action News)

Chicken poop (Oct. 26, 2017): At 3 a.m., a truck carrying chicken manure overturned on the southbound ramp from Ga. 400 to I-285 East in Sandy Springs, spilling 40,000 pounds of chicken manure. The smelly mess got cleaned up by the morning rush hour. (AJC file)

A tiger (Sept. 6, 2017): A Bengal tiger named Suzy escaped a transport truck in Henry County and remained on the loose for several hours before being shot and killed. The tiger was a circus performer being moved from Florida to Tennessee along with 13 other big cats. She was first spotted in the on-ramp to I-75 from Jodeco Road. (Henry County Police)

A small mountain of pavement (April 17, 2017): All lanes of I-20 westbound were closed at lunchtime when a large chunk of the interstate buckled from a suspected gas leak. (ERIC STIRGUS / estirgus@ajc.com)

Tomahawks (April 12, 2017): Atlanta Braves foam tomahawks fells from a truck and blocked two lanes of traffic on I-75 near the Windy Hill exit. The debris caused delays on the interstate.

Up to 70 cows on the mooooove (Oct. 1, 2018): Officers struggled to round up cows who survived an overturned tractor-trailer on I-285 East at the I-75 interchange in Cobb County. At least two cows were killed and a driver was injured in the multiple vehicle crash. (Photo and "mooooove" pun by Steve Gehlbach / Channel 2 Action News)

A modular building(Aug. 29, 2016): Two right lanes of I-85 northbound and one lane of I-285 northbound were blocked for seven miles when a mobile home fell off of a truck in south Fulton County. The mobile home had to be demolished before it could be removed. (JOHN SPINK /JSPINK@AJC.COM)

Fire in the hole (March 30, 2017): A section of I-85 north collapsed when materials stored beneath it caught fire. The clean-up and reconstruction lasted until May 15 and closed off the interstate and Piedmont Road. No one was hurt in the whole incident but the community did lose a pirate skateboard park built under the bridge. (BOB ANDRES /BANDRES@AJC.COM)

Mess of melons (June 12, 2015): An overturned tractor-trailer spilled thousands of pounds of watermelons onto the I-75 northbound ramp to I-285 westbound shortly before 6 a.m. The “watermelon ramp” was re-opened within the hour. Here are a few other examples of bizarre disruptions to our commutes.

An emu (May 19, 2015): Traffic was jammed on I-20 near Ga. 5 in Douglas County because of an emu running loose just before daybreak. The big bird (first reported as an ostrich) was scared but unharmed, and was returned to its owner. (Credit: Douglas County Sheriff’s Office)

A boat (March 17, 2015): A runaway boat blocked several lanes of I-285 near Henderson Mill Road for about an hour right before rush hour. (Credit: Ben Hansberger)

A small plane (Sept. 20, 2010): Incredibly no one was injured when this small plane landed in the HOV lane on I-85 near Shallowford Road during rush hour. The plane was trying to land at PDK airport. (Vino Wong, vwong@ajc.com)

A pinhole camera (Feb. 2, 2015): The entire Downtown Connector was shut down in both directions when a suspicious package was reported on the 14th Street Bridge. The package, which was blown up by a bomb squad on live TV, turned out to be a photography art project for a GSU class. (Ben Gray, bgray@ajc.com)

Christmas gifts (Dec. 16, 2014): Just nine days before Christmas, a FedEx truck spilled packages all over I-75 just north of Macon, leaving many Georgians to wonder if their gifts may have been part of the wreckage. (Alan Jimmerson/Special)

A zebra (Feb. 18, 2010): After a jaunt through downtown, this escapee from the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus broke free a second time and ran down the center of Downtown Connector before being captured. Sadly, the animal had to be euthanized later due to damage to its hooves that it got from running on the pavement. (Ben Gray, bgray@ajc.com)

A buffalo (Feb. 26, 2010): A buffalo fell out of the back of a trailer on I-20 eastbound before being hit by another vehicle. The animal survived the accident, but was put down once its injuries were examined. All lanes of traffic were blocked. (Johnny Crawford/Jcrawford@ajc.com)

Live chickens (Aug. 4, 2011): Much of I-285 northbound traffic was halted when two tractor trailers collided just north of I-20 before dawn, one of which spilled crates of live chickens across the road. The chickens had to be rounded up while a hazardous materials team with Atlanta Fire Rescue dealt with the chemical spill from the other truck. (John Spink, jspink@ajc.com)

Ham (Dec. 19, 2013): Remembered fondly as the "ham jam," an overturned truck spilled hams onto the ramp from Old National Highway to I-85 southbound. (John Spink, jspink@ajc.com)

Eggs (May 27, 2014): Boxes of eggs were scattered and smothered all across the interstate ramp from I-285 southbound to I-20 eastbound in DeKalb just before 6 a.m. (John Spink / jspink@ajc.com)

99 bottles of beer (Jan. 23, 2014): Probably more bottles than that, really. A truck spilled cases of Bud Light after overturning on the ramp from I-285 southbound to I-20 eastbound in DeKalb. The mess got mopped up in time for the morning commute. (WSB-TV)

Frozen chicken (Jan. 14, 2014): 40,000 pounds of it. The truck carrying the poultry wrecked about 3 a.m. on the ramp from I-285 southbound to I-20 eastbound in DeKalb. (Channel 2 Action News )

Broccoli (Feb. 18, 2019): About 40,000 pounds of it. A tractor-trailer hauling the frozen vegetables overturned on the ramp from I-285 to I-75 in the early morning hours. The ramp was shut down but reopened by 6:30 a.m.

Roasted chicken (Jan. 15, 2019): A big rig carrying 40,000 pounds of frozen chicken caught fire in an inconvenient place -- on I-285, in the tunnel beneath the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport's fifth runway. Thankfully this was no repeat of the 2017 bridge collapse. The fire got put out, the burned-out truck got moved, and all lanes were reopened by 6:15 a.m. (Channel 2 Action News)

A second serving of roasted chicken (Feb. 26, 2019): A tractor-trailer hauling 40,000 pounds of chicken caught fire on southbound I-285 near South Cobb Drive. The truck driver pulled his rig over at 3:45 a.m. when he spotted smoke, then called for help. No one was hurt and all lanes were open by 7 a.m. No word on what sparked the early morning barbecue.

Auto parts (March 16, 2015): All eastbound lanes of I-285 were blocked near the Bouldercrest Road exit in DeKalb County for about four hours, after a truck carrying 30,000 pounds of auto parts crashed and ignited. No serious injuries resulted from the fiery wreck. (Channel 2 Action News)

Only 2 inches of snow (Jan. 28, 2014): One year later, it's still hard to swallow that 2 inches of snow could cause SnowJam. (Ben Gray, bgray@ajc.com)

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You never know what's going to disrupt Atlanta's traffic. On May 16, 2018, a tractor-trailer hauling 19 cows overturned on I-75 South in Cobb County at 5 a.m., killing seven of the animals. The surviving 12 roamed the highway until crews could herd them to the side as the crash was cleaned up. The wreck closed traffic until 7 a.m. (John Spink / jspink@ajc.com)

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