Holiday weekend traffic: Crashes, long delays affect drivers

The Memorial Day weekend traffic headache began early Friday afternoon in metro Atlanta, with two significant crashes on I-75 causing major delays on opposite sides of the city.

As motorists were leaving work early to get a jump-start on their holiday weekend, a crash was reported northbound near Windy Hill Road in Cobb County, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center. Four of six lanes were blocked at one time, but all lanes reopened shortly after 5 p.m.

However, heavy delays were reported as far back as the Chattahoochee River throughout the afternoon commute. A report of a stall blocking a center lane near the I-285 interchange didn’t help matters.

On the south side, a tractor-trailer crash on northbound I-75 past Old Dixie Highway in Clayton County created major delays for travelers headed to the metro area and beyond. That scene cleared about 5:20 p.m.

Elsewhere, a stalled camper on I-285 eastbound at Buford Highway blocked a center lane at 6 p.m. That created temporary delays back to Ashford-Dunwoody Road.

About the same time on I-285, a crash southbound at South Atlanta Road blocked one lane before it was quickly moved to the shoulder. But that didn’t keep traffic from backing up all the way to Roswell Road.

A car fire earlier was reported on I-75/I-85 north of Langford Parkway. Police and fire crews arrived around 4:30 p.m. and the scene cleared just before 5 p.m.

A three-car crash on I-20 westbound past Lowery Boulevard caused delays for a few minutes but cleared around 6 p.m.

According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), more than 39 million Americans are expected to travel 50 plus miles away from home this weekend.

To help ease the pain, the Georgia Department of Transportation announced it will suspend construction-related lane closures until 5 a.m. Tuesday on interstate highways.

— Please return to AJC.com for updates.

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