O'Neill Tunnel Truck Crash Causes Massive Traffic Gridlock On I-93 South
BOSTON (CBS) - A truck driver has been cited for causing a crash that led to major rush hour gridlock in the Boston area Thursday morning.
Read: Commuters' Reactions To Nightmare Traffic
A truck hit the ceiling of the O'Neill Tunnel on Interstate 93 south around 6 a.m. forcing authorities to shut down all but one lane of traffic inside because there was debris scattered over the road.
In video released by MassDOT, it appeared to be a large flatbed truck hauling something tall like a shipping container. There were no reports of any serious injuries, but two cars were damaged and the traffic backup was massive. Some commuters said their drive into the city took more than two-and-a-half hours.
State Police said the truck driver, who has not been identified, was cited for having a overheight and overwidth truck in the tunnel. According to MassDOT, the height clearance for trucks in the O'Neill Tunnel is 13 feet 6 inches.
The truck is registered to Snap Trucking in Ontario, Canada. The owner, Roger Hamilton, told WBZ-TV they're still trying to figure out what happened, but they "apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused."
"No one got hurt, that's the main thing," he told WBZ's Gary Brode.
The crash and its aftermath caused the commute to crawl from Montvale Avenue into downtown Boston. At the height of the backup, the ride from Interstate 495 to the Leverett Connector took about two hours and 40 minutes.
All lanes of traffic in the tunnel were re-opened around 8 a.m.
