Wyoming DOT Closes I-80 After Strong Winds Topple Several Tractor-Trailer Rigs

AASHTO Journal, 22 December 2016

Among numerous storm threats that state departments of transportation must battle, wind does not often draw attention as its own category, since dangerous gusts or sustained winds are usually associated with broader storms. But the Wyoming DOT had to react to wind dangers Dec. 20, caused both by wind and by motorists disregarding road-closure rules.

capitol0816.jpgIt announced that day it was closing westbound Interstate 80 from west of Laramie to Walcott “due to multiple tractor-trailer blow-overs that occurred earlier today. At least five tractor-trailers have been blown over and are blocking the lanes of travel.”

In several parts of the 80-mile distance between Laramie and Walcott, the DOT said “wind speeds exceeding 60 miles per hour” had been reported.

So that portion of highway as well as other sections in the state had already been officially designated as closed to light and high-profile vehicles, but the Wyoming Highway Patrol said that “many motorists are not heeding the closures, with crashes resulting statewide.”

The DOT said its employees were working with the Patrol to clear the toppled commercial trucks from travel lanes to allow lower-profile traffic to move through.

Meanwhile, the Patrol addressed the broader problem of drivers ignoring safety considerations.

It said it had “investigated 80 crashes statewide beginning on Dec. 19th through 9:45 a.m. today (Dec. 20th). Many of the crashes were attributed to inclement weather and high wind speeds.”

Of those, the Patrol said 27 of the 80 crashes involved injury, while 53 only involved property damage. It said 18 of the crashes were in a high-wind area along Interstate 25 in Platte County near Wheatland, and 28 were in a high-wind area along Interstate 80 between Laramie and Rawlins.

One incident involved a parked Patrol vehicle. While a state trooper was investigating a previous high-wind-related crash, another vehicle struck the trooper’s car Dec. 20 in a secondary high-wind-related crash, on I-80 about 30 miles west of Laramie. “The trooper sustained non-life threatening injuries and is expected to be okay,” the announcement said.

But it also warned that “these high-wind-related crashes are demonstrating the importance for motorists to not proceed when roads are closed to light and high-profile vehicles due to high wind speeds.” It said the closures and advisories are displayed on variable message signs along the closed highways, and are available on a road information website.

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