Threat Of Falling Wall Shuts Down Freeway
POSTED: Friday, February 15, 2008
UPDATED: 3:40 pm CST February 15,
2008
HOUSTON -- Part of a major freeway was shut down Friday because a piece of concrete could fall on the roadway, KPRC Local 2 reported.
Slideshow: Crash Leaves Hole In HOV Retaining Wall
METRO Police said a pickup truck hit a retaining wall on the high occupancy vehicle ramp on the Southwest Freeway at West Bellfort Street at about 7 a.m."She turned instead of going straight on the HOV lane," witness Gordon Richards said. "She turned and she went across and hit (the wall) smack dab. They had guardian angels right there."The impact knocked part of the retaining wall loose. Investigators said a large chunk of the wall could fall on to the freeway below at any time.Richards called 911. He said he thought the driver was unfamiliar with how the HOV lane works."She wasn't going that fast, but when she started making the turn she started picking up speed," Richards said. "If it wasn't for that concrete barrier they would have gone right over the side."All northbound lanes were closed for a while. Crews later opened two lanes to let traffic through. Traffic was backed up into Sugar Land.Texas Department of Transportation engineers worked for hours to patch the wall. Officials said that portion of the wall had been patched about a year and a half ago during another crash.The freeway was completely reopened at about 12:30 p.m.A woman and child inside the pickup truck were taken to a hospital for treatment for injuries they suffered in the crash. Their conditions were not released. Check Traffic Now:
Copyright 2008 by Click2Houston.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Slideshow: Crash Leaves Hole In HOV Retaining Wall
METRO Police said a pickup truck hit a retaining wall on the high occupancy vehicle ramp on the Southwest Freeway at West Bellfort Street at about 7 a.m."She turned instead of going straight on the HOV lane," witness Gordon Richards said. "She turned and she went across and hit (the wall) smack dab. They had guardian angels right there."The impact knocked part of the retaining wall loose. Investigators said a large chunk of the wall could fall on to the freeway below at any time.Richards called 911. He said he thought the driver was unfamiliar with how the HOV lane works."She wasn't going that fast, but when she started making the turn she started picking up speed," Richards said. "If it wasn't for that concrete barrier they would have gone right over the side."All northbound lanes were closed for a while. Crews later opened two lanes to let traffic through. Traffic was backed up into Sugar Land.Texas Department of Transportation engineers worked for hours to patch the wall. Officials said that portion of the wall had been patched about a year and a half ago during another crash.The freeway was completely reopened at about 12:30 p.m.A woman and child inside the pickup truck were taken to a hospital for treatment for injuries they suffered in the crash. Their conditions were not released. Check Traffic Now:
- Houston TranStar Real-Time Traffic Map
- Traffic Pulse Real-Time Traffic Map
- Traffic Section
- Houston Transtar
- Texas Dept. of Transportation Web site or call 800-452-9292
- Harris County Office of Emergency Management Web site
Copyright 2008 by Click2Houston.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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