Commuters traveling through the Smyrna area met an unexpected obstacle on their way home from work Tuesday afternoon: 55,000 pounds of chicken guts.
11 Alive reports that during the peak of rush hour on August 2, a tractor trailer overturned on the I-75 southbound ramp to I-285 westbound, spilling the tens of thousands of pounds of chicken parts it was transporting.
The accident left a huge mess on the busy roadway and effectively closed down all lanes and exits while Georgia Department of Transportation crews worked to clean up the entrails.
A few drivers were lucky enough to be able to get out of the closed lanes and take an alternate route home, such as Powers Ferry Road or Cobb Parkway. Others, however, weren’t so lucky.
Some motorists sat for nearly two hours in stand-still traffic as the lengthy cleanup process took place. The ramp was reopened at approximately 6:30 p.m.
No one was injured in the wreck, and the exact cause of the accident has not yet been reported.
This latest disruption served as just another hindrance for a section of the interstate that has seen significant construction as part of the Northwest Corridor Project.
Though an oddity, chicken-related accidents are not unprecedented in Georgia, a state where fowl is a top industry. According to the University of Georgia, the state is number one in the U.S. in terms of production of broiler chicken, chicken that is raised specifically for consumption. In fact, poultry makes up over fifty percent of Georgia’s total agricultural industry.
In December of last year, a truck spilled its cargo, raw chicken guts, on I-75 in Henry County, shutting down several lanes of traffic.