West Loop back open after being shut down for hours
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Traffic is flowing again on the West Loop at Old Katy Road after a fiery big rig wreck had it shut down for hours Friday morning.
The fire was first spotted just before 7am on the southbound lanes of the West Loop. When firefighters arrived, they shut down all southbound lanes. Just after 8am, firefighters decided to close the entire freeway.
"I didn't see or hear anything about 610 being closed until I seen the big sign on the freeway," said driver Kenneth Stockton. "I was stuck, right in the middle of it."
Houston Fire Department says the truck is a striping vehicle used by campanies to pain stripes on parking lots and roads. There was a propane tank on the truck, which is mostly what burned.
"It's awful. I work at 290 and 610. This morning it took me 2 hours to get to work," said another frustrated driver.
US 290 eastbound at IH 610 southbound and IH 610 North Loop westbound at US 290 were also closed. The IH 610 southbound frontage road at 12th Street is also closed.
At noon, all lanes were opened back up.
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Many people who were able to drive past the truck before the freeway shut down have been sending in photos and videos to our iWitness account.
