At least four crashes Wednesday caused backups on I-75, two of which led to complete interstate shutdowns.
A flipped car near Ga. 92 in Cobb County at about 3:30 p.m. was the fourth serious crash reported on the interstate. Within a few minutes, I-75 North was fully reopened in northwest Atlanta, and blocked southbound lanes near Acworth were cleared, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center.
An earlier crash around 3 p.m. with multiple injuries shut down the northbound lanes of I-75 just past Mt. Paran Road, drawing a large response from police, firefighters and emergency medical personnel, according to the Traffic Center.
The afternoon incidents took place in mostly dry conditions after multiple wrecks jammed traffic around metro Atlanta during a rainy morning commute.
Most of the morning crashes only caused congestion due to partial closures, but two caused complete shutdowns of I-75, one in each direction and at different times.
The first involved a furniture company’s tractor-trailer that was traveling south on the interstate not far from Acworth near the Cobb-Cherokee county line. It happened just before 6 a.m. and caused a 10-mile backup reaching Cartersville in Bartow County, according to the Traffic Center.
Credit: Georgia Department of Transportation
Credit: Georgia Department of Transportation
Lanes finally began to reopen around 8:30 a.m., and it was cleared about an hour later.
The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office said the trailer ran off the road near the Woodstock Road overpass. Just north of the crash site, another semi-truck had broken down in the center lane, which caused more congestion. No injuries were reported, according to the sheriff’s office.
As the southbound lanes began to reopen, another crash was reported further south in the northbound lanes just past Mt. Paran Road and Northside Parkway around 8:30 a.m., according to the Georgia Department of Transportation.
Atlanta police said that crash involved six vehicles. Only one person complained of neck pain. No other injuries were reported, police said.
On GDOT cameras, two vehicles appeared heavily damaged.
Most lanes reopened by 9:15 a.m., and it was cleared by 10 a.m.
