NORTH FORSYTH — Effects from the start of the 2015-16 school year in Forsyth County were evident Thursday in the form of traffic gridlock.

Between 6 and 10 a.m., as school buses and nearly 50,000 employees and students returned to their campuses, Forsyth County emergency personnel handled 16 wrecks, according to Robin Regan, a spokesman for the sheriff’s office.

Just one resulted in injuries — the severity or number was not immediately clear — and at least two caused “significant traffic delays.”

“That is a high number for that time in the morning,” Regan said.

The crash that caused perhaps the most impact occurred about 7 a.m. when a tractor-trailer hauling chicken eggs overturned on Matt Highway (Hwy. 369), just west of the Coal Mountain community.

No one was injured, but the crash and resulting cleanup disrupted traffic along the busy corridor for more than six hours.

The driver of the tractor-trailer, which was traveling east, told authorities the vehicle’s right side tires had encountered wet grass on the shoulder, pulling the truck down a steep embankment.

Authorities allowed one lane of traffic flow at a time while they awaited cleanup equipment to arrive.  

The rear of the trailer was wedged against a tree about 4 feet in the air. Its cargo was likely a total loss, authorities said.

The rest of the wrecks Thursday were reported across the county.

Most notably, a wreck in the southbound lanes of Ga. 400 about 7 a.m. shut down all traffic from under the bridge at Exit 14 (Hwy. 20) heading south.

The incident occurred between the on and off ramps, Regan said. It was not immediately clear whether anyone was injured.

Online Editor Jim Dean contributed to this report.