Four Accidents And Interstate Traffic Rerouted Through Town
By LYDIA BERGLAR
News Editor
Photo courtesy of Chad Payne/Dade County Sheriff’s Office – GDOT used the term “sinkhole” to describe the issue on I-59 north (pictured here) that led to shutting down the interstate, but it can more accurately be described as excessive wear and tear on the shoulder.
Anyone who had to drive through Trenton/the valley last Wednesday knows that it was a terrible day for traffic. I-59 north near the Hicks Hollow bridge was shut down, so all northbound interstate traffic was rerouted to Highway 11 at the Trenton exit and back to the interstate at GA-299, leading to heavy congestion in town.
At about 11:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 3, the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) reported that there was a sinkhole around mile marker 15 on the interstate. In reality, it wasn’t a sinkhole but rather excessive wear and tear. While GDOT has been using the right lane to work on the bridge, traffic has been rerouted to the left shoulder, causing increased wear and tear which wore the pavement down to the dirt.
With work happening in both lanes, GDOT had to shut down both lanes. Traffic followed the detour through town all day on Wednesday, June 4.
GDOT was in charge, and the Dade County Sheriff’s Office, Trenton Police Department, and Georgia State Patrol assisted with traffic control. Some citizens wanted officers to be present at all intersections in town, but Chad Payne (DCSO public information officer) reported that there are not enough officers to be stationed at every intersection.
At about 3:30 a.m. on June 5, I-59 opened back up.
Several other accidents on the interstates made matters worse on June 4. At about 9:45 a.m., a tractor trailer carrying chicken eggs jackknifed on I-59 just south of the Trenton exit. DCSO reported that the Department of Agriculture had to come and break all of the eggs due to food safety concerns.
Then, at about 11:30 a.m., a car carrier trailer caught fire on I-24 west right at the Tennessee/Georgia line, shutting down that interstate for a few hours as well. This incident was in Marion County, Tenn., but traffic backed up through Dade County. Local 3 News reported that the driver was injured.
Later that afternoon at about 4 p.m., another wreck on I-59 north happened around the Daniels Road area, and at the same time, an accident happened on top of Sand Mountain at White Oak Gap and Brow Road. On the interstate, a passenger vehicle ran into the back of a tractor trailer, resulting in one patient being transported to the hospital. On the mountain, two patients were injured and transported. As of midday June 6, DCSO had not heard that any of these injuries were serious.
Even with all of the heavy traffic on Highway 11 throughout last Wednesday, DCSO was thankfully not called out to any accidents on 11.
