Damage to the road can be seen in this picture of the smoldering remains of the wrecked tractor trailer on SR 2/US 76 near Hiawassee. The driver, 28 year old Brandon Hamby of Anderson, SC escaped Monday’s fiery crash with minor injuries. (Photo: GDOT)
State Route 2/US 76 reopened to traffic late this afternoon, seven hours after it was closed due to a fiery crash. Teri Pope with the Georgia Department of Transportation says the road opened for use with rough pavement at 3:35 p.m. She says traffic will be merged into one lane tomorrow for repairs in the area of Cassie Lane, east of Berrong Lake near Hiawassee.
See Fiery crash shuts down highway in Towns County
“The pavement will be rough until we can remove the damaged layer of asphalt tomorrow,” explains Brent Cook, Northeast Georgia GDOT Engineer. “The fire melted the tar out of the asphalt leaving only the gravel. An area almost one lane wide and 528 feet long will be removed and replaced tomorrow.”
One lane of traffic will be closed Tuesday, July 21st between 9 a.m. and 4p.m. for the repair work.
Georgia State Patrol Sgt. Jonathan Barrett says the tractor trailer was loaded down with more than 6,000 gallons of gasoline when it crashed around 7:30 Monday morning. It took firefighters three hours to contain the exploding inferno.
Cook credits the quick response and coordinated efforts of emergency workers with getting the traffic near the crash site flowing again.
“Thanks to the Georgia State Patrol, Towns County Emergency Responders and Sheriff’s Department of Towns County for their coordinated effort to reopen the roadway so quickly. It took cooperation and hard work to get the road safely reopened for use.”
