A multivehicle crash on I-85 did not completely shut down the interstate Wednesday morning, but it severely marred commutes out of the northeastern suburbs nonetheless.
The crash south of Jimmy Carter Boulevard gridlocked the interstate and caused four-hour delays out of Hall, Gwinnett and DeKalb counties. Multiple southbound lanes were blocked from 5 a.m. until about 7:20 a.m.
Only a right lane and emergency lane were getting by, and all lanes were blocked at times.
At their worst, gridlock conditions stretched nine miles back before Pleasant Hill Road. The average speed on I-85 South was 3 mph at one point.
The trip time from Ga. 316 to the Perimeter topped out at 248 minutes, prompting WSB traffic reporter Mark Arum to call it “one of the worst rides in recent memory in from Lawrenceville, Suwanee and Buford.”
Things remained slow for the remainder of the morning rush. At 9 a.m., the ride from Ga. 316 to I-285 was 34 minutes, a vast improvement but still sluggish.
Motorists were crowding onto Peachtree Industrial Boulevard, Buford Highway and Lawrenceville Highway to avoid the backups.
All lingering delays have since cleared.
No details about the wreck have been released.
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
— Please return to AJC.com for updates.
In other news:
About the Author
