All lanes of I-20 have reopened after authorities safely talked a man down from the Boulevard bridge, according to Atlanta police.
Lanes were blocked in both directions while negotiators were on scene. While cars are moving again, there is “very tough traffic in and around” East Atlanta, WSB traffic reporter Ashley Frasca said.
Atlanta fire spokesman Sgt. Cortez Stafford said authorities were in communication with the man from about 8:15 a.m. until just before 10 a.m., when he was removed and the interstate was reopened.
The man “was very distraught but he was talking to police officers and firefighters once they arrived on scene,” Stafford told AJC.com.
The man was standing on the other side of protective fencing on the overpass and sometimes sitting on an interstate exit sign. The Georgia State Patrol, Atlanta police, Atlanta fire and Grady Memorial Hospital paramedic crews were all on standby after a ladder truck and an airbag were positioned underneath the bridge.
“We're still unclear why exactly he decided to go to the other side of the bridge, but he was threatening to jump,” Stafford said.
During negotiations, all eastbound and westbound traffic is stopped before and after the bridge, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center. Drivers were being diverted onto the exit ramps and crowding onto nearby surface streets.
The man, who appeared to be in his 30s, is now in police custody. No further information was released.
» For updated traffic information, listen to News 95.5 and AM 750 WSB and follow @ajcwsbtraffic on Twitter.
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