I-24 closed for 3 hours at Ohio River work zone by 4-vehicle crash

Travel between Illinois and Kentucky slowed to a crawl on Thursday afternoon after a four-vehicle accident on I-24 near Metropolis.

The crash in Massac County happened around 1:15 where two lanes narrow into one and transitions to a reduced speed limit on the approach to the Ohio River. The wreck included a semi, a pickup and a passenger car.

The situation was complicated by daily midday closures of the Brookport bridge this week for inspection, so there was no alternate route available to provide immediate relief for passenger cars to avoid I-24.

Bridge inspectors did stop their work at Brookport on word of the crash, but it still took about thirty minutes for them to clear equipment off the bridge. 

The crash was eventually cleared around 3:45, but it took some time for the miles of traffic backlog to filter through to Kentucky. 

Westbound traffic, though not directly involved with the crash, was also backed up to Lourdes Hospital early in the afternoon, but improved by 4 p.m.

Variations on this theme have become all too common since the I-24 bridge rehab project began this spring. A number of other multi-car crashes have blocked the single-lane work zone for hours on almost a weekly basis, especially on weekend afternoons when a high volume of out-of-state drivers are added to the local mix.

The situation will likely stay in place in some form for the length of the project, scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2027.


PHOTO: KYTC cameras showed traffic backed up between Exits 3 and 4 on I-24 in McCracken County on Thursday afternoon. At its peak, the logjam stretched back beyond Exit 7.