Crashes cause delays for drivers on major highway in Columbia area

Drivers making the Wednesday morning commute on a major highway in the Columbia area were delayed by multiple crashes.

At one point before 9 a.m., an eastbound lane on Interstate 26 was closed, while a few miles down the highway all of the westbound lanes were blocked, according to the South Carolina Department of Transportation.

The first collision happened in Richland County at about 8:30 a.m. in the eastbound lanes, near Exit 103 on Interstate 26, SCDOT said. That’s the junction with Harbison Boulevard and its busy shopping district.

The second wreck was reported by SCDOT at about 8:50 a.m. three miles west of Exit 97, which is the junction with U.S. 176. The crash was in Lexington County.

Information about the causes of the crashes, and the number of vehicles involved, was not available.

The South Carolina Department of Public Safety did not say if anyone was injured in the crashes.

Vehicles were backed up for at least a mile in both directions of I-26, traffic cameras showed.

At about 9 a.m., SCDOT said the eastbound lane had been reopened near the Harbison Boulevard exit.

Members of the Columbia Fire Department and Irmo Fire District responded to the scene of the second crash, and said multiple vehicles were involved.

Information about when the westbound lanes near the 94 mile marker would be reopened and the scene would be cleared was not available.

“The crash scene is expected to take some time to clear,” the Columbia Fire Department said on Twitter at about 9:30 a.m. “Drivers should avoid I-26 (westbound) in this area for now.”

This is a developing story, check back for updates.

This story was originally published May 24, 2023 at 9:14 AM.

Noah Feit

The State

803-771-8435

Noah Feit is a Real Time reporter with The State focused on breaking news, public safety and trending news. The award-winning journalist has worked for multiple newspapers since starting his career in 1999. Support my work with a digital subscription