SPARTANBURG, S.C. (AP) -- South Carolina officials are warning traffic could back up for more than 80 miles into Georgia and North Carolina after power lines fell across Interstate 85 near Spartanburg, shutting down the highway.
Authorities say a wreck around 2 p.m. Thursday knocked down the lines near mile marker 80 about 10 miles north of Spartanburg near the Cherokee County line.
Transportation officials estimate it could take three hours to clean up the mess along the main route from Atlanta to Charlotte, N.C.
Georgia officials warned traffic on I-85 could back up into their state, which was 80 miles away from the shutdown.
South Carolina DOT figures show around 54,000 vehicles travel through that section of I-85 on an average weekday.
(Copyright ©2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
