Two wrecks close lanes on I-77 northbound in Iredell County on Friday

A wreck has closed the right lane of Interstate 77 northbound in Troutman along a stretch where a tractor-trailer overturned earlier Friday afternoon, closing the two northbound lanes for hours.

The latest wreck happened about 6 p.m. at Exit 42. The wreck involving the overturned tractor-trailer happened about 1 p.m. just past Amity Hill Road Exit 45, according to the state Department of Transportation.

Traffic backed up for miles in Iredell County after the earlier wreck. One lane remained blocked until about 3:30 and the other lane until about 4:30 p.m.

The closure had traffic backed up for about 10 miles shortly before 3 p.m. Friday.

Truck driver Edward Reed, who was driving behind the tractor-trailer, said the vehicle wasn’t speeding but part of its tandem went over the shoulder. “The weight shifted,” Reed said, “sending (the tractor-trailer) in a fishtail and basically, the trailer flipped.”

Observer staff writers April Bethea and Joe Marusak and McClatchy Regional Video Editor JulieAnn McKellogg contributed.

This story was originally published May 1, 2015 at 1:51 PM with the headline "Two wrecks close lanes on I-77 northbound in Iredell County on Friday."