I-57 Near Mt. Vernon Closed Several Hours Tuesday Evening

Illinois State Police reopened I-57 at the Dix interchange overpass at 7:30 Tuesday night after seven hours of cleanup following a four semi-truck chain reaction collision.

Initial reports from the Jefferson Fire Protection District indicate three of the southbound trucks had slowed for construction activity on the Dix-Irvington Road overpass but the fourth rig could not and crashed into the rear of the first slowed truck, resulting in the chain reaction.

First reports around 12:30 Tuesday afternoon indicated one of the truck drivers may have been trapped, but it was quickly learned all four drivers were out of their rigs and had escaped injury.

Part of the reason for the long delay in clearing the wreckage was difficulty in getting wreckers onto the northbound overpass that has no shoulders to travel around the backed-up traffic. Two of the trucks involved were able to be driven away, while a third truck was towed away. The fourth truck hauling kitty litter had to be unloaded due to the amount of damage to the trailer.

Firefighters say the kitty litter containers were opened up and spread onto the highway to stop the flow of oil and fuel leaking from the truck. Once the unloading was completed, the truck was towed and the roadway cleared of debris so traffic flow could resume.

There was also another crash at northbound mile marker 98 four miles south of Dix where a car rear-ended another semi in the construction zone. The driver of the car was reportedly transferred to Good Samaritan Hospital in Mt. Vernon for treatment of injuries.

While later traffic was being diverted off the Interstate at Route 161, heavy traffic volumes caused southbound traffic on Route 161 and Route 37 to come to a standstill at times. Some southbound truck traffic was also diverted west on Route 161 through Centralia as well. Traffic came to a standstill on southbound I-57 as far north as the Salem exit.