LITTLEFIELD, Arizona, Utah, Aug. 8, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — Northbound Interstate 15 traffic coming to Utah has been blocked Saturday morning and afternoon after a semi pulling two trailers crashed above the Virgin River Gorge near Littlefield, Arizona.
The semi exploded, creating a fireball, according to some accounts. That sparked a brush fire below the elevated roadway, and left the back trailer dangling over the roadway’s side barrier.
The accident happened just after 4 a.m. The roadway was expected to be cleared late Saturday afternoon, after crews spent hours clearing debris and a bridge inspector completed an assessment of the structure’s strength and stability, according to the Arizona Highway Patrol.
As of 2:30 p.m. Saturday, the roadway remained closed.
“There is no estimated time to reopen the northbound lanes,” said a ADOT statement at that time. No additional Twitter updates had been posted regarding the situation as of 5 p.m. Saturday.
Traffic was diverted to Arizona’s Highway 91.
Gephardt Daily will have updates as they become available.
