Collision blocks all lanes on highway headed to Columbia
Drivers were stuck in a traffic jam Monday morning following a collision that closed all the lanes of a highway headed toward Columbia.
A crash blocked all of the eastbound lanes on a stretch of Interstate 20 running through Lexington County, the South Carolina Department of Transportation said on Twitter.
The wreck happened shortly after 10 a.m., near Exit 55 on I-20, according to the tweet. That’s the exit for S.C. 6 heading to Lexington, Pelion, and Swansea.
No injuries were reported in the collision, according to the South Carolina Department of Public Safety.
Information on the number of vehicles involved was not available.
Traffic cameras showed the highway at a standstill, as vehicles were backed up.
The delays were longer because drivers were unable to move into the open lane since a concrete barrier separated them as part of an ongoing traffic shift on the highway to widen the road.
Just before 11:45 a.m., all of the lanes of I-20 were reopened, according to SCDOT.
About 10 miles east, a separate collision blocked another interstate in the area called Malfunction Junction.
Multiple eastbound lanes of Interstate 26 were blocked following a crash that happened just before 11 a.m., SCDOT tweeted. The wreck was near the junction with S.C. 126, according to the tweet.
No injuries were reported in the second collision, according to DPS. Vehicles were backed up for miles as they slowly tried to maneuver into the remaining open lane, traffic cameras showed.
Information on the cause of the crashes was not available.
This is a developing story, check back for updates.
This story was originally published July 6, 2020 at 10:48 AM.
