Big-rig truck hit Interstate 77 highway sign, causing collapse at Carowinds Boulevard
An 18-wheeler hauling a metal cylinder hit a large overhead sign on Interstate 77 Tuesday afternoon, causing the sign to collapse onto the highway near Carowinds Boulevard/U.S. 21, troopers said.
The wreck and downed sign caused traffic in southbound lanes to back up for miles into south Charlotte.
Drivers told The Charlotte Observer they were stuck in a bumper-to-bumper standstill for three hours as far north as the Woodlawn Road exit. A Charlotte Observer reporter said it took him about 25 minutes to creep halfway from the Tyvola Road exit to the I-485 exit.
The incident happened just after noon, said Master Trooper Brandon Bolt of the S.C. Highway Patrol.
The driver of a 2006 Hyundai SUV that was behind the 18-wheeler collided with the downed sign, Bolt said.
Neither driver was hurt, the trooper said. The SUV driver was from Florence, South Carolina, Bolt said.
The 18-wheeler driver was cited for driving too fast for conditions, Bolt said. The truck was registered to a company from Stokesdale, North Carolina, he said.
Workers had to cut the sign into pieces to remove it from the highway, Bolt said.
Traffic on Interstate 77
Just after 2 p.m., the SC State Highway Patrol reported on Twitter that all lanes were back open, but drivers said backups continued for more than an hour after that.
Observer reporter Michael Gordon, who was stuck in the mess, said troopers finally finished removing cones blocking the southbound lanes at about 3:15 p.m., and traffic finally returned to regular speeds.
He said it took him three hours to get from uptown Charlotte to the S.C. welcome center.
This story was originally published December 13, 2022 at 1:53 PM.