One Lane of Westbound I-70 Opens

One lane of westbound Interstate 70 in central Missouri has been re-opened, after a fatal truck accident Friday closed it. The Missouri Department of Transportation has been able to temporarily shore up the badly damaged overpass west of Columbia that shutdown westbound traffic Friday afternoon through Saturday afternoon. Traffic initially was detoured around the accident scene. Traffic has slowed considerably as it has to narrow to one lane west of the Missouri River near the 110-mile marker. A tractor-trailer driven by 50-year-old Eugene White of Albany, Georgia slammed into the bridge columns of the Woodland School Road overpass, shearing off one of the concrete columns which support the bridge. The wreck damaged a second column as well. White died in the accident. Officials with the Missouri Department of Transportation determined the overpass was too unstable to allow westbound traffic to keep driving underneath it. Temporary repairs continue to be made to the overpass in an attempt to re-open both westbound lanes.