The South Carolina Department of Transportation reopened Interstate 20 in both directions near the Georgia border, less than two days after a fiery tanker crash collapsed an overpass.
On the morning of June 14, a tractor-trailer struck an overpass for Old Vaucluse Road over I-20 at mile marker 13 near Aiken in southwestern South Carolina. The tanker crash resulted in no injuries.
Emergency crews worked through the night to demolish and remove the damaged overpass, finishing in less than 24 hours.
For a video showing the overpass’ demolition, scroll to the end of this article.
By the evening of June 15, crews had successfully milled and repaved damaged portions of the interstate, and all four lanes of Interstate 20 were reopened in both directions.
SCDOT’s emergency contractors for the work included Great Falls, South Carolina-based United Infrastructure and Greenwood, South Carolina-based Satterfield Construction Company.
In a statement to Equipment World, SCDOT Deputy Chief of Staff Kelly Moore said the department does not have a cost or timeline estimate yet for the bridge replacement, though it will be expedited through an executive order from Governor Henry McMaster.
“We expect to have details on the timeline in the coming weeks and in the meantime, we want to reassure community members that this emergency project will be measured in months and not years,” said Moore.
The demolished overpass’ clearance was labeled for both directions of traffic: 16 feet and 11 inches for eastbound traffic and 18 feet for westbound traffic. The crash occurred on I-20’s eastbound lanes.
