Traffic Backup Mystery

On Sunday Nov 4, 2007 traffic gets backed up for over 5 miles on I-20 east bound, is forced to exit the interstate at Heflin, AL Exit 199 and travel Hwy 78 all the way into Georgia back to the Route 100 connector to I-20 and I cannot find one single reference to it online. I had left Birmingham, AL before 3PM after picking up a rental car* from the airport. Traffic started backing up around mile marker 194 east bound around 4PM. It took an hour to go 4 miles. Finally got to exit 199 where traffic was being diverted off the interstate at 5:30PM. So now I'm forced off the interstate with hundreds of other cars and trucks. All I can do is go with the flow, there were no other police cars directing traffic once they forced everyone off the interstate.

At 7:15PM (now Eastern time) I figured I had better call my hotel in Atlanta and let them know I was going to be late. My best guess was it would be after 9PM - I checked in at 9:15PM. I need to remember to ask the two ladies in my class, also from Birmingham, if they go stuck in that mess too.

*The rental car - just when I thought I was getting a treat - a Ford Mustang convertible - it turned into a lemon. It is either seriously out of alignment or something is very wrong somewhere around the front passenger tire/brake area. It started off with an awful vibration that was very noticeable in the steering wheel. I was thinking this was going to be an awful ride to Atlanta - little did I know how true that would be. But it got worse, while doing 5 miles an hour for 5 miles I could hear a thump, thump, thump (more like a clunk, clunk, clunk). If I didn't know better it sounded like something inside a hubcap - except the car didn't have hubcaps. It seemed to also be brake related. The vibration has calmed down some, but the clunk, clunk, clunk remains. At least there is a roadside assistance number on the keyring.