The southbound lanes of Interstate 680 in Pleasanton finally reopened about 5:30 p.m., more than five hours after a big rig crashed and blocked the busy freeway.
A Friday afternoon traffic nightmare developed after the big-rig overturned shortly before noon on Interstate 680 in Pleasanton, blocking all southbound lanes and one lane on the northbound side of the highway, a California Highway Patrol officer said.
During the clean-up, traffic on southbound I-680 is being directed around the wreck one vehicle at a time. Traffic was backed up to at least San Ramon.
At 4 p.m., all northbound lanes were reopened. During most of the afternoon, one lane of northbound I-680 was closed. Traffic had backed up past Sunol Boulevard.
Traffic also backed up on Interstate 580 from people who could no longer access southbound 680. Patch readers reported westbound traffic clogged all the way to Livermore.
The big-rig flipped onto its side in an apparently solo-vehicle accident at 11:50 a.m. near the Stoneridge Drive off-ramp, said CHP Officer James Evans.
A Sig-alert was issued at 12:07 p.m. after the entire southbound side of the highway was shut down and one northbound lane was also blocked because of the crash, Evans said.
The 50-year-old driver was heading northbound on Interstate 680 when he drifted toward the shoulder, over-corrected and crashed into the center
divide near the Stoneridge Drive off-ramp, said CHP Officer Shawna Pacheco.
When the truck hit the center divide, part of it crossed the divider and the vehicle landed on its right side, blocking all southbound lanes, Pacheco said.
The driver was pulled out from the truck cab and taken to Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley for a complaint of pain, Pacheco said.
One other car was involved in the crash, but no one in that vehicle was injured, according to Pacheco.
A tow truck arrived shortly before 1 p.m. Crews at 2:25 p.m. were also working to clean up about 40 gallons of spilled diesel fuel from the crash, Pacheco said.
Were you caught in this traffic mess? Tell us about it in the comments section.
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Bay City News contributed to this story.
What a lot of people may not realize is that big rig drivers can legally drive 11 hours straight, which is a long, long time to be on the road carrying the cargos they carry. That said though, I'll take this opportunity to say that, for you "regular" drivers out there, it's REALLY not a good idea to pass a big rig driver on the freeway, then cut right into his or her lane. I see drivers do it all the time and they think nothing of it. Glad no one was seriously hurt or killed in this accident, although I'm sure quite a few drivers must have gotten a horrible scare as it was unfolding.
Once an accident between regular car and big rig. The survival possibility of passengers in the regular car is very rare.
It didn't used to be that way, but, driving around big rigs is dangerous business these days. You can't know if the driver has been on the road for a few hours, or is already at the daily maximum hours on the road limit or even past it. Plus, (and not all big rig drivers do this, but, some DO), if they're using their cell phones or texting on the road, it's a recipe for disaster. AND, they seem to have this new thing going now, where they drive in lane # 3. My morning commute is 580 westbound, and I've even seem them drive in the SECOND lane there, which is absolutely ridiculous! One particularly bad morning, there were big rig drivers in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th lanes, which not only backed up traffic, it could have caused numerous accidents due to us "regular" drivers trying to get around them. I just think it was a miracle that no one was seriously hurt or killed in this accident.
Until the last year or so, big rigs would stay in the far right lane, unless it was necessary and safe for them to move to the #3 lane for vehicles entering the freeway. But, for some of them, that practice has changed. I frequently see big rig drivers driving in the #3 lane. Several weeks ago, during my morning commute on 580 westbound, there were big rig drivers in the #2, the #3 and the #4 lanes, all driving within a few car lengths of each other. I'm not sure what they were thinking, but, it created quite a mess, with dozens of drivers trying to get around them without getting into accidents. Given the sheer number of big rigs on the road, I know it's not possible for them to drive solely in the #4 lane, but, I really think they should absolutely steer clear of the two lanes to the left. Regardless of where they are these days, the drifting thing they've been doing has been making me really nervous.
Being that Big rigs sit considerably higher than 99% of vehicles on the road how could you see that he was texting? Also, you admit that it's not the big rigs causing accidents but rather "regular" drivers trying to get around them. I put the blame on the regular drivers who are in a rush. What you don't understand is that "regulars" drivers are responsible for the vast majority of traffic accidents. If they allowed big rigs to ride in the carpool and there would be less traffic as a result of less vehicles trying to pass big rigs on both sides and merge into traffic where the big rigs are confined.