All lanes of I-20 in Douglas County have reopened, more than four hours after the raised bed of a dump truck struck a bridge over the interstate.
The truck hit the South Burnt Hickory Road overpass at about 6 a.m., shutting down the interstate in both directions.
Officials reopened a couple of westbound lanes about two hours later, but it was 10:30 before the eastbound lanes were reopened.
"Traffic congestion in area is still heavy," Douglas County sheriff's Lt. Glenn Daniel said in a Twitter post.
Georgia State Patrol Trooper Steven Walker said the dump truck was traveling eastbound on I-20 when it hit the bridge, which is just east of the Fairburn Road exit.
“I don’t know if it was operator error or the equipment malfunctioned, but the bed apparently raised up and collided with the bottom of the overpass,” Walker told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
He said the truck’s driver was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital.
“It looks like he is going to be OK,” Walker said.
A couple of other passing vehicles hit some of the debris from the truck and the bridge, but no other injuries were reported, he said.
According to Walker, the Georgia Department of Transportation has determined the damage to the overpass “is cosmetic and not structural.”
In far west Georgia, all westbound lanes of I-20 were shut down for several hours overnight as authorities doused a truck fire and cleaned up the debris. The truck, which was hauling cereal, caught fire near the Alabama state line.
