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Friday, Nov. 06, 2009
| Comments (0) |Interstate 64 west near Mascoutah opens after truck fire
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closeAll lanes of westbound Interstate 64 near Mascoutah reopened late Friday night after a truck fire earlier in the day had the highway closed.
Emergency personnel were cleaning up the aftermath Friday night, and Illinois State Police were investigating the cause of the fire, Sgt. Kelly Waldrup said.
"Traffic is moving slow, but it's open to traffic," said Waldrup, adding that all westbound lanes are expected to be open by 9 p.m.
Preliminary information indicated that the flatbed tractor-trailer was carrying wooden flats and cardboard, Waldrup said.
"It was on fire going down the road," Waldrup said. "The trooper saw it probably before the driver did, so they stopped him. That's a good thing and that's probably why no one got hurt."
Troopers spotted the fire around 2 p.m., and closed the highway's westbound lanes at Illinois 4.
The semi was burning just west of the intersection with Illinois 4 near MidAmerica Airport.
Firefighters from Lebanon, Emerald Mound and Mascoutah fire districts worked on the blaze.
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