» Time lapse map: How Atlanta traffic jam grew
Sandy Springs police closed all westbound lanes of I-285 near Roswell Road Thursday morning after a Dunwoody woman was struck and killed while walking on the freeway before daybreak.
Police identified the woman this afternoon as Gayla Joyce Walker, 53, of Dunwoody. Police said it was not clear why Walker was on foot on the busy roadway. They believe she was initially struck by a large vehicle, possibly an 18-wheel semi, but that vehicle did not stop.
As Sandy Springs authorities dealt with the tragedy, the rest of the northern metro area was confronted with the fallout: a massive traffic jam at the height of rush hour that quickly reached up Ga. 400 and across to I-85 and I-75. Surface streets in the area were gridlocked as well, leaving thousands of commuters sitting in their unmoving cars and wondering what had happened and where.
As Atlantans have learned after ice storms and major accidents, a sudden bottleneck on one interstate can rapidly become a nightmare for drivers many miles away.
Sandy Springs police ordered the westbound lanes closed at 6:35 a.m., Sgt. Ronald Momon said this afternoon.
At 8 a.m., police were turning westbound traffic around on I-285 and routing it back eastbound in the emergency lane. The far left westbound lane reopened just before 8:45, and the remaining lanes reopened just at about 9:40.
Momon said the supervisor on duty Thursday made the call to close the road.
"We're required to do a thorough investigation," he said. "We had no choice."
Authorities also closed the ramps from Ga. 400 northbound and southbound to I-285 westbound for a couple of hours, according to the WSB Radio traffic center, causing major delays on Ga. 400.
Westbound traffic on the top-end Perimeter was backed up more than 7 miles to beyond Spaghetti Junction, while the eastbound traffic jam caused by onlookers stretched more than 5 miles to I-75.
Gretchen Stringer, 22, from Johns Creek, said her usual route toward town, Ga. 141, was badly congested because of the accident. In addition, Stringer said, drivers everywhere she went were more harried than normal because of delays from the accident.
“People were driving crazy because they were late for work,” she said.
After she finally made her way onto I-85 south for the final leg of her commute, Stringer was involved in a four-car accident near Chamblee Tucker Road. Her car was totaled.
Tim Lomax, a traffic congestion expert at the Texas Transportation Institute, said an incident on a highway like I-285 would quickly spiral into "trouble not only on 285 but on all the roads crossing it as people invariably look for an alternate route,"
As daily drivers on I-285 know well, alternate routes for the Perimeter Highway range from few to nonexistent.
"I can imagine roads for miles on either side with traffic messing up," Lomax said. “You've got not only folks from the local area trying to go from one suburb to another, but you've also got interstate traffic.”
When told the time of day it happened, Lomax said, “Oh, no.”
Sandy Springs police said several drivers struck Walker's body but didn't call. A police statement this afternoon indicated that she was first struck by a large vehicle that kept going after the impact. The first report to come in, police said, was of a dead animal in the roadway.
