BARROW COUNTY, Ga. — Update: All lanes have reopened on I-85 northbound, according to an alert at 10:50 p.m. from the Georgia Department of Transportation. They said drivers should still expect delays, however.
Braselton Police later said it was an accident involving three vehicles including a semi-truck. The semi-truck overturned and caught fire, authorities said.
Original story below:
A vehicle fire shut down all northbound lanes along Interstate 85 Wednesday night.
Georgia Department of Transportation issued an alert just before 7 p.m. advising of the backups at Exit 126 for state highway 211 in Barrow County.
"Currently all lanes are blocked and emergency responders are on scene," the alert read in part.
Crews said the vehicle is believed to be a tractor-trailer. Damage from the vehicle and the overhead sign is being cleaned up.
GDOT said it does not know when the incident would be cleared but as of 8:55 p.m. traffic cameras in the area revealed traffic was backed up for more than a mile. This has been the case for at least an hour.
Traffic maps show massive backups from Braselton approaching Buford in Gwinnett County.
"All motorists traveling northbound are strongly encouraged to use alternate routes to avoid extreme delays," GDOT said.
Crews have set up a detour at I-85 northbound around mile marker 118, GDOT said.
Authorities have not said whether anyone was hurt in the fire.
