Devastating Fire Outbreak causes hours-long closure of Interstate 70 westbound in Wayne County.
A semi fire caused an hours-long traffic backup in Wayne County on Saturday.
A traffic notification from the Indiana Department of Transportation indicated all lanes of I-70 westbound were closed around 3 p.m. to allow officials to work on a semi fire. The fire broke out at mile marker 150 of I-70, which is located between U.S. Highway 27 and Union Pike Road near Richmond.
At 3:26 p.m., INDOT announced that the left lane of the roadway had reopened. Officials then closed all lanes again around 4:34 p.m.
In a notification sent around 8:15 p.m. — more than five hours after INDOT first announced the roadway had closed — officials confirmed all lanes of I-70 westbound had reopened.
According to the Richmond Police Department, no injuries have been reported related to the fire. The semi’s trailer reportedly caught fire due to “a mechanical failure near the rear trailer tires and brakes.”
RPD indicated that the semi driver was unaware of what he was hauling and all lanes of the roadway were closed out of an abundance of caution. The Richmond Fire Department later confirmed that the trailer contained frozen food.
