All lanes of I-285 eastbound re-opened around 2 p.m. Monday, hours after a tractor-trailer fire shut down the interstate during the morning commute.
The flatbed truck caught fire in the right emergency lane of I-285 near Riverside Drive just before 9 a.m.
All eastbound lanes remained blocked until 9:30 a.m., when one lane was reopened. A second lane had reopened by 9:45, but not before eastbound traffic backed up about 9 miles, to South Cobb Drive.
At one point, police were diverting traffic off the interstate at the Powers Ferry Road exit. Authorities had three lanes open at 10:45, but two lanes remained closed.
Those two right lanes were still closed at noon, and the Georgia Department of Transportation had predicted it would be 5 p.m. before the wreckage was cleared and all lanes reopened. But the situation was resolved about three hours ahead of that prediction.
Traffic also backed up on I-75 southbound at noon as motorists tried to exit onto I-285 east.
No westbound lanes were affected, but rubbernecking led to a westbound backup that at one point stretched to beyond Ga. 400.
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