Big Rig Snaps in Half in Downtown Watkinsville

A tractor trailer caused a traffic disturbance in front of Eagle Tavern on Main Street Thursday morning. 

Watkinsville Police Chief Lee O'Dillon said the trailer actually broke in half around 7:45 a.m. 

"[The driver] was going through town at a slow speed, thank goodness, and the center of the trailer just broke," he said.  "What a mess."  It's possible the load shifted and caused the break, he added.

As of 10:15 a.m., workers were still busy unloading the cargo, which included "some kind of pressurized air tanks" and dry ice, O'Dillon said.

"They've got to offload it and figure out how to move it without messing up the pavement," he said.

Officers are on the scene directing traffic.  

"We're keeping it moving," O'Dillon said.  "It slows you down, the congestion, but it's moving."

Around noon, the Oconee County Sheriff's Office reported that Main Street was all clear.