Flipped semi blocks roundabout; driver fined

JACKSON (WNE) — Wyoming Highway Patrol troopers were still directing traffic around the Hoback Junction roundabout at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, five hours after a semi truck hauling heavy steel beams flipped.

No one was injured, but the 55-year-old Wisconsin driver was cited for not securing his load properly, according to state Trooper Mike Merritt.

The wreck blocked the southbound lane of travel on Highway 89 and the eastbound lane toward Highway 191. At 4 p.m., the semi truck had been cleared, but front-end loaders were still working to remove the six 5,000-pound steel beams from the road. By about 4:30 p.m., traffic was flowing smoothly again around the roundabout.

The trailer was carrying old pieces of the now defunct Snake River bridge to a salvage yard in Denver. 

“He loaded those trailers, and he wasn’t going fast; he was only going 10 to 15 mph through the roundabout,” Merritt said.

The sharp corners of the steel beams cut through one of the synthetic straps used to secure the load. When the synthetic strap ripped, the whole load and momentum shifted, causing the long trailer to tip over in the middle of the typically busy roundabout.

Merritt said that due to the weight of each beam, chains should have been used instead of straps.

“Straps are the worst thing to use,” Merritt said. “A lot of the issue we had was driver error and loading error.”

This story was published on September 12, 2024.