All lanes on northbound I-77 are now open after the state Department of Transportation closed the highway for most of yesterday to make an emergency bridge repair.
The repairs had to be made after a dump truck had its bed raised and the bed crashed into an overpass. The accident occurred around 11 a.m Wednesday near mile marker 12. The Department of Transportation closed lanes to clear the crash and perform an inspection on the bridge. Traffic was backed up for hours as all drivers were diverted to other routes at exit 11B.
Engineers temporarily opened some lanes at around 7:15 p.m to ease traffic in the area and two lanes were opened intermittently until 11 p.m. During that time, the bridge was removed. The lanes remained closed until 5 a.m. due to previously scheduled construction.
The driver of the truck was charged with careless and reckless driving. The name of the driver has not been released and their condition is unknown.
This is not the first time an accident involving a truck has affected I-77 during the widening project. In May 2017, a truck struck an overhead sign in Mooresville which led to a day-long backup on the interstate and side roads in Lake Norman. Two of the highway's three lanes were closed to repair the damaged sign. The truck's driver, Maurice Marcel Mason, was charged with reckless driving and driving while his license was revoked.