I-81 exit ramp in Greenville area reopens after shutdown due to overturned truck

(WHSV)
Published: Jan. 24, 2020 at 2:54 PM EST
Email This Link
Share on Pinterest
Share on LinkedIn

UPDATE (4:26 p.m.):

The I-81 South ramp for Exit 213 A is reopen after a crash involving an overturned truck that was hauling vehicles.

Traffic congestion on I-81 South leading up to the exit has cleared up, and traffic is once again flowing along the exit ramp.

___________

An overturned truck has shut down an Interstate 81 exit ramp in the Greenville area on Friday afternoon.

According to the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), the crash shut down the exit ramp at southbound Exit 213 A a little before 3 p.m.

That's the ramp that takes drivers onto southbound Rt. 11, heading toward Greenville. The exit is right near a popular Pilot gas station.

Virginia State Police say a truck that was hauling vehicles on a flatbed trailer came around the turn on the exit ramp too fast in slick conditions, hit a guardrail, and overturned, landing on its side across the ramp

The crash scene is up the exit ramp, nearly to Route 11.

It appears the vehicles on the trailer sustained serious damage.

The driver of the truck was hospitalized at Augusta Health with minor injuries. Police say charges are pending once the driver is released.

It will take some time for crews to clean up, a wrecker to get the car carrier back upright, and first responders to clear the scene. Until that's done, southbound Exit 213 A will remain closed.

As of 4 p.m., VDOT estimated backups on the southbound side of Interstate 81 stretched about a mile and a half from the scene.