COLUMBIA, S.C. — Interstate 20 in Columbia has reopened after a crash and a damanged sign led to hours of backups on the major roadway.
The collision happened around 5:30 a.m. Thursday near the 65 mile marker, which is at the Broad River.
Master Trooper David Jones says a car was traveling the wrong way, going eastbound in the westbound lanes. That car collided with another vehicle, causing a crash that involved a total of five vehicles.
A semi-truck that was involved then ran off the road and hit one of the support structures for the overhead sign at the location.
Three people were hurt including one person who suffered life-threatening injuries.
Initally once some of the vehicles were cleared traffic was allowed to resume. However, the SC Department of Transportation was concerned the sign might fall on the interstate below. Traffic was then shut down in both directions for several hours.
A crane was brought to the scene and engineers began analyzing the structure. Just before 1 p.m., they began tearing down the sign in sections.
Traffic was then allowed to resume in the eastbound lanes. Westbound lanes are currently still blocked.
Drivers had to deal with backups for hours. Many had to be rerouted to detours onto sideroads. Troopers say they had officers stationed there to help drivers direct people to the alternative routes.
One local business owner off Broad River Road, Lavalle Moore, said the traffic negatively impacted his shop.
"It's more fluid with all the traffic, but it actually slows business down because it makes people not want to stop because they have to get back into traffic," Moore said.
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