Overturned Tractor-Trailer Causes Traffic Mess

Traffic was moving at a snail’s pace on I-40 westbound from North Carolina. Around 10:45 Wednesday, a tractor trailer carrying seven huge rolls of paper weighing 6,000 pounds each overturned on the Bluffton curve near mile marker 444. That wreck locked both westbound lanes allowing traffic to only move via the shoulder. That led to some traffic tie ups with traffic backed up to near the Waterville exit. However to compound the problem, there has been construction going on arounds MM 451, that and the overturned tractor trailer sent traffic backing up into North Carolina for several miles. Some adventurous souls decided they would exit at Waterville Rd and detour to Highway 32 in the mountains. That made Highway 32 very congested in between the state line and Cosby.

Around 1:45pm, the rolls of paper were removed form the overturned tractor trailer allowing crews to right the semi and clear the roadway around 2:45 pm. Traffic then began to get back to normal.