ATLANTA — A section of westbound Interstate 20 in Atlanta is closed after a section of the roadway bulged up from the ground and launched a motorcycle rider into the air Monday afternoon.
The DeKalb County Police initially said an underground gas leak caused the “defect” in the roadway in the southeast part of the city.
Fire officials later said crews were pumping concrete into old, abandoned gas lines under the freeway and there was some sort of malfunction that caused a build-up of air pressure. The air pressure eventually caused the ground under the roadway to surge upward.
Officials with the DeKalb County Fire Rescue confirmed that the driver of a motorcycle hit the huge bump and was launched into the air. Officials say the motorcycle came to a stop about 200 feet from the bulge in the highway.
The motorcycle rider was hospitalized in critical condition after the crash, fire officials said.
Officials said the buckled highway is causing a traffic “nightmare” for westbound travelers.
Just last month, Atlanta had another big problem on a different freeway.
A massive fire caused a section of Interstate 85 to collapse.
Crews said that section of highway would be closed for months during repairs.
