One wrong turn creates one big backup

An oversized truck made a wrong turn onto I-55 in Joliet Thursday morning and created an hourlong halt for inbound morning commuters after it got wedged under the Route 59 overpass near Plainfield.

State police said the "fiasco" caused miles of backups along northbound I-55 and both directions of I-80. Investigators cited the truck driver for violating a travel permit and striking the bridge.

Officials from the Texas-based trucking company that specializes in moving oversized freight said they were investigating how the incident could have occurred because the semitrailer truck was being escorted by another vehicle that is supposed to ensure the big rig can clear such overpasses as well as stay on its designated route.

"We go to great lengths to make sure this doesn't happen," said Jeff Looney, vice president of safety for Lone Star Transportation. "We work with each state to coordinate routes, and the escort serves the purpose to warn of advance highway obstructions."

Illinois State Police Trooper Mark Dorencz said the incident happened at about 5 a.m. when the truck driver headed north on I-55 from I-80 in Joliet instead of going south.

The truck had a special permit from the state's transportation department to carry the oversized load on a specific route. The truck -- carrying an industrial heater module that weighed 100,000 pounds -- was 15 feet wide and 15 feet, 8 inches high. To haul freight without the special permit, the load has to weigh less than 80,000 pounds and be 13 feet, 6 inches or shorter.

The Route 59 overpass can accommodate heights of up to 15 feet, 2 inches, said transportation department spokesman Mike Claffey.

"And that's 12 inches taller than it was three years ago," he said. "It was being hit weekly. We took out a contract to raise the bridge a foot. But that interchange is scheduled for complete replacement this fall into next year. It will be a completely different design."

The impact of the collision shifted the cargo, so tow trucks had to be called to the scene to realign the load. Then the truck was driven -- in reverse -- to the I-80 interchange, up the on-ramp and back to the southbound lanes.

That maneuver, along with a safety inspection of the bridge, caused a northbound standstill in both lanes that lasted roughly an hour.

"There was no structural damage to the bridge," Dorencz said.

Claffey said eventually all lanes were cleared and reopened just after 9:45 a.m.