I-10 closure after fiery, fatal wreck in eastern Arizona expected to last 2 days
May 3, 2023, 11:09 AM | Updated: May 5, 2023, 6:28 am
PHOENIX – A section of Interstate 10 in eastern Arizona is expected to be closed for about two days after a semi-truck slammed into a bridge pillar and caught fire early Wednesday, killing the driver., authorities said.
The truck was heading west just after midnight when it went off the right side of the roadway, struck a guardrail and ran into a pillar under the U.S. 191 overpass west of Willcox, the Arizona Department of Public Safety said. The driver was not identified.
The impact buckled a support pillar, and a structural review determined the need for bridge repairs, the Arizona Department of Transportation said. The work is expected to take 48 hours.
Westbound I-10 was temporarily closed Wednesday from the New Mexico state line, about 60 miles from the crash site, to Benson, requiring a long detour for traffic coming into Arizona.
Extended closure continues for westbound I-10 in southeastern Arizona
ADOT project is shoring up bridge damaged by semi crash
MORE: https://t.co/FRCB9u9tiG pic.twitter.com/egLYfgDce2
— Arizona DOT (@ArizonaDOT) May 4, 2023
The westbound closure point was moved Thursday morning to milepost 344, just east of Willcox, creating the following detour route:
- West on Business 10 from Exit 344 (Haskell Road) into Willcox;
- Southeast on State Route 186 (Maley Street);
- South on Kansas Settlement Road;
- South on U.S. 191 to McNeal;
- West on Davis Road to S.R. 80 in Tombstone;
- North on S.R. 80 to S.R. 82;
- West on S.R. 82 to S.R. 90 in Whetstone;
- North on S.R. 90 to I-10 in Benson.
The eastbound I-10 traffic is not affected because it can bypass the bridge on a service road.
