12-hour closure following I-90 accident

PINEHURST — A collision between two semi trucks in a construction zone on Interstate 90 late Wednesday evening resulted in a 12-hour road closure.

Idaho State Police were forced to shut down the already congested single-lane section of the highway in order to clear the wreckage. Meanwhile, traffic was diverted through several communities along Silver Valley Road.

The accident occurred in a narrow construction zone where local officials had previously asked for the speed to be reduced.

Despite the accident, the Idaho Transportation Department is not planning on making any changes to the speeds.

A few weeks ago, Shoshone County Commissioner Tracy Casady had previously reached out to the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) on behalf of the county sheriff and several concerned residents regarding the speed limits in the various major road construction areas throughout Shoshone County.

ITD denied Casady’s request, citing regulations in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Devices from the Federal Highway Administration.

Thursday evening, ITD issued the following statement:

“As with every crash in a work zone, the project team reached out to law enforcement and has again looked into the particular area to determine if any changes, including to the speed limit, are necessary. At this time ITD is not making any changes.”

Commissioner Casady spoke with several media outlets Thursday evening, where she expressed her frustrations.

“The way it’s set up, the speed in some of the areas, the on-ramps — trying to get on, there’s been a lot of close calls,” Casady said. “Thank goodness no one lost their life or was seriously injured.”

An investigation into the cause of the accident is ongoing.

ITD said the road work near Pinehurst is set to wrap up in the coming weeks.