Big Rig Crash Closes Highway In Grand Prairie
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GRAND PRAIRIE (CBSDFW.COM) - A crash involving an 18-wheeler forced emergency crews to close a portion of eastbound Interstate-30 in Grand Prairie late Monday night, and the closures continued into Tuesday morning. It took place just before 10:00 p.m. near the intersection with Belt Line Road.
Details about what caused the actual crash are still under investigation. But the truck ended up hitting a bridge column in the median of the highway, which is under construction. The big rig then caught on fire, damaging some nearby road structures.
The truck driver suffered only minor cuts, sustained while he was getting out of his vehicle after the fiery crash. He told police that he became confused in the construction zone and ended up veering off of the roadway.
Investigators said that it is too early to know if the driver will face any charges.
Officials with the Texas Department of Transportation came out to inspect the scorched bridge, and said that it looks to be okay. However, workers spent the night and morning cleaning up debris and repairing a damaged guardrail. TxDOT plans to seek reimbursement for the damages from either the driver or his insurance company. The total cost is not yet known.
The now burned bridge is part of a $63 million project to widen and improve the HOV lanes from Arlington into Dallas. This is supposed to be completed by early next year. TxDOT is not sure if the crash will have any delay on that expected end date.
For a few hours during the night, all eastbound lanes of the interstate were shut down. Crews eventually got all lanes of the highway back up and running for traffic just before 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, more than 12 hours after the crash took place.
