OREGON — UPDATE: I-84 has been cleared and lanes of travel in both directions are open.
Original story:
Drivers heading into Oregon by I-84 will need to find a better route.
A crash involving a windmill tower around 9:30 a.m. closed all lanes eastbound and westbound on I-84 milepost 374 to 304, from Ontario to Baker City. ODOT also closed I-84 eastbound at Exit 216, 7 miles east of Pendelton, to Baker City, Exit 304, Wednesday afternoon to commercial vehicle traffic. Local traffic and deliveries are okay to proceed through this area. U.S. 30, OR 204, and OR 245 are also closed at this time.
The crash occurred near milepost 332, which is near the town of Weatherby. A photo provided by ODOT shows the cab and front end of the semi-truck on its side with the windmill tower on the ground.
Cleanup crews arrived on the scene around 1:30 p.m. and will use a 200-ton crane to stabilize the tower section so the truck and trailers can be removed. According to the Oregon Department of Transportation, some concrete barriers will need to be removed from the inside of the tower and then that tower section will need to be re-attached to a new truck and trailer to be removed.
The crane operation is estimated to take at least 6 hours. There are no reports of injuries, or what led to the crash.
