I-75 mess in Ocala: Truck's cargo hits/damages overpass at SW 66th Street

Austin L. Miller, Ocala Star-Banner
·1 min read

A semitractor-trailer traveling north on Interstate 75 with an oversized load hit and damaged the overpass at Southwest 66th Street (Williams Road) on Wednesday, causing officials to close northbound lanes and leading to severe traffic backups.

This was the scene Wednesday morning on northbound I-75, where a truck hauling heavy equipment hit the overpass at SW 66th Street (Williams Road.) The damage was still being assessed as noon approached.
This was the scene Wednesday morning on northbound I-75, where a truck hauling heavy equipment hit the overpass at SW 66th Street (Williams Road.) The damage was still being assessed as noon approached.

The incident occurred at 9:14 a.m., FHP officials said. The truck was hauling a large steel tank as cargo. No one was injured.

"As the unit travelled under the SW 66 Street/Williams Road overpass, the top of the tank struck the undercarriage of the overpass," the FHP wrote in a news release.

"Work crews are currently removing damaged concrete from the overpass," the patrol said in a 2 p.m. update. "Debris removal, and possible temporary repairs are expected to last for the next three hours or longer."

This was the scene Wednesday morning on northbound I-75, where a truck hauling heavy equipment hit the overpass at SW 66th Street (Williams Road.)
This was the scene Wednesday morning on northbound I-75, where a truck hauling heavy equipment hit the overpass at SW 66th Street (Williams Road.)

At that point, all northbound traffic was being diverted at County Road 484 near Belleview. Southbound lanes were open, but slow going. Southwest 66th Street (Williams Road) was closed.

An FHP news release identified the truck driver only as a 50-year-old man from Lakeland.

Contact Austin L. Miller at 867-4118, austin.miller@starbanner.com or @almillerosb

This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Northbound lanes closed in Ocala after I-75 crash at SW 66th Street