An overturned cement truck closed the ramp between westbound State Route 52 and northbound Interstate 5 Tuesday, causing heavy traffic and delays for hours amid the busy morning commute.
According to California Highway Patrol (CHP) officials, at around 4:45 a.m., a Peterbilt cement truck was traveling northbound on I-5 at about 57 mph when, for unknown reasons, the driver lost control and veered off the right side of the freeway.
The cement truck tipped onto its side, crashing into some trees along the right shoulder of I-5, coming to rest just north of the westbound SR-52 transition.
The driver was uninjured but some oil and diesel spilled in the crash. The truck was full of 100,000 pounds of cement mixture at the time.
CHP officials issued a SigAlert and blocked off traffic to three lanes starting at 5:38 a.m. Officials estimated the area would remain closed to traffic until approximately 9 a.m. while crews worked to clear the crash.
As of 8:30 a.m., traffic was still snarled in the area, as commuters tried to get to work. Two right lanes on northbound I-5 were completely blocked. Traffic was backed up to State Route 54.
By 9:10 a.m., the SigAlert remained in place and one lane had re-opened. An alternate route for commuters would be to travel along northbound Interstate 805 from SR-52.
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Meanwhile, traffic was also heavy on northbound Interstate 15 after a separate rollover crash.