A wide-load tractor-trailer got stuck between barriers in a construction zone Wednesday afternoon, July 1, on northbound I-55 north of Herculaneum, bringing northbound traffic to a standstill or crawl for an extended period of time, a Missouri State Highway Patrol spokesman reported.
The agency pulled the driver’s wide-load permit for failing to detour around the work zone as he had been instructed, Sgt. Dallas Thompson said today, July 2. He said he did not have further details about the tractor-trailer or driver.
He said the patrol received a call on the incident at 4:07 p.m.
“He had a permit for oversized/wide load,” Thompson said. “He was supposed to get off of I-55 due to the width of the trailer. He went into the construction zone and got lodged in the barriers in the construction zone.”
The tractor-trailer had to back up on the roadway to get unstuck, he said.
“Troopers arrived,” Thompson said. “We had to have him back up to McNutt Street. We gave him help to get off the highway.”
He said the roadway was officially reopened for traffic at 5:09 p.m., but acknowledged the traffic backup lasted an extended period of time after the incident.
Thompson said the driver was not given a citation.
“We pulled his (oversized/wide load) permit, because he was in violation and was supposed to leave (I-55) at that point,” he said.