The Payson Roundup / Semi truck rollover shuts down Highway 87

Archive for Friday, July 24, 2009

July 24, 2009

A semi tractor-trailer carrying crushed cars closed southbound Highway 87 for more than six hours Thursday night after it overturned, shooting debris across four lanes of traffic.

No one was injured in the rollover, but the backup quickly stretched to a mile.

Around 3:40 p.m., the driver of the semi lost control on a curve at milepost 220, about 30 miles south of Payson. DPS officials said the driver was traveling too fast for the windy area. The truck slammed into the median concrete wall and overturned.

Luckily, none of the crushed cars strapped to the semi bed dislodged.

Southbound motorists were diverted to State Route 188 at the Roosevelt Lake turnoff, while northbound traffic was restricted to one lane as crews cleared debris.

It took a Payson tow truck several hours to wind through traffic and arrive on scene. The tow truck then moved the semi from the road around 6:30 p.m. and the southbound lanes were reopened. Crews then shut the south lanes again for several hours to load the truck and haul it away.