Authorities shut down a 14-mile section of Interstate 40 eastbound for several hours Friday to allow for the removal of a tractor-trailer involved in an accident the previous night.
Motorists were rerouted to U.S. 70 at Biscoe in Prairie County and allowed to return to I-40 at Brinkley in Monroe County, said David Nilles, a spokesman for the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department.
The eastbound portion of the interstate was closed about 8 a.m., said Bill Sadler, a spokesman for the Arkansas State Police.
Both state police and Highway and Transportation Department staff members coordinated the detour, Sadler said.
The accident occurred Thursday night when the tractor-trailer left the roadway.
"The purpose of the detour was to allow AHTD personnel to remove a guardrail that would permit equipment recovery crews to have access to the damaged truck," Sadler said in an email Friday.
During the detour, traffic appeared to be slow on U.S. 70 west of Brinkley, according to the Highway and Transportation Department's map depicting live traffic at www.idrivearkansas.com.
The section of I-40 reopened to traffic at 2:16 p.m., Nilles said.
Metro on 07/26/2014