Weather strands travelers on I-80 for several hours

EVANSTON (WNE) — All traffic traveling westbound on Interstate 80 on Saturday afternoon was stopped and backed up for miles due to icy conditions and jackknifed semi-trucks.

Approximately 10 miles east of Evanston, one semi’s cab was totally destroyed when it hit the trailer of another semi in front of it.

The Wyoming Highway Patrol, local fire department and ambulance crews and tow trucks were all out most of the night making sure travelers were safe and attempting to unblock the bottleneck of trucks and cars.

Arron Healy, public relations officer with the Wyoming Highway Patrol, said there were 10 crashes on the entirety of the three sisters, from milepost 8 to milepost 28, starting at 3 p.m. on Saturday, and continuing throughout the day.

The majority of crashes were in westbound lanes, though a few were in eastbound lanes.

Most of the crashes involved commercial vehicles and semitrucks.

Healy said three troopers responded to the closure initially, and two more came on at 2 or 3 a.m. to assist. One of those came in on his day off to assist. It took all five working all night to get the road cleared, Healy said.

Every tow truck in the county was called out, two to three fire trucks, the Uinta County Sheriff’s Office, along with ambulance and emergency crews. Healy advised everyone to be prepared when traveling in Wyoming during the winter months.

He said people should have extra blankets, food and water in their vehicles, a full tank of gas and good tires. He also advised they should never drive faster than conditions allow.

This story was published on November 20, 2024.