[UPDATE 8:31 a.m.: One Way Traffic] Hwy 101 Closed North of Leggett After Big Rig Overturns
Highway 101, the Emerald Triangle’s major north/south corridor, is closed this morning after a big rig full of dry concrete overturned near the Mendocino/Humboldt County line. The road is estimated to re-open around 2:00 this afternoon.
Scanner traffic and the California Highway Patrol Traffic Incident Information Page indicate the traffic accident happened around 6:15 a.m. when the big rig overturned on Hwy 101’s northbound lane reportedly injuring one party and spilling the trailer’s contents on the roadway.
Caltrans Quickmap shows traffic at a standstill this morning in both the north and southbound lane.
Hazardous material technicians have been dispatched to the scene.
Please remember that information gathered from initial reports is subject to revision as more facts become available.
UPDATE 8:31 a.m.: According to the CHP Traffic Incident Information Page, Caltrans is opening up the road for one-way traffic. It is not clear if that is a temporary solution to long lines of vehicles on both sides of the closure or if the road will continue to remain open to one way traffic.
UPDATE 8:57 a.m.: Caltrans confirmed, “U.S. 101 is now open to one-way controlled traffic north of Leggett in Mendocino County (PM 96.12) due to a solo big rig crash.”
UPDATE 10:22 a.m.: Semi carrying cement on its side on Hwy 101.
Concrete is piled on Highway 101 after a semi carrying cement crashed onto its side on Hwy 101. [Photograph from Manny Machado of Caltrans]
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That’s one way to keep people from coming into the north woods.
I have no concrete evidence, but could speed and the wind have been a factor?
If it rains there, they may be dealing with cement.
I doubt wind was a factor. Speed yes. But you’ve got the concrete horse before the cement cart. Concrete is the combination of sand, gravel, cement and water. So the truck was most likely hauling cement. Add water and you get mortar. Add some roadside shale and you get weak concrete.
Accident reported incorrectly to be:
“SEMI TANK TRLR LOADED W/DRY CONCRETE / TRK and TRLRS ON ITS SIDE”
https://lostcoastoutpost.com/chpwatch/2023/sep/25/230925HM00022/
It should be saying “dry cement” not “dry concrete”…
So, yes, you are correct, it was hauling dry cement.
Dry cement is such a fine powder that it can easily shift like a liquid inside the tanker truck and/or trailer when going too fast going through turns.
But adding water to dry cement would not form mortar, Truth Be Told, for that you would have to add water, sand, and lime.
https://rosieonthehouse.com/diy/what-is-the-correct-mortar-mix-ratio-for-masonry/#:~:text=Pre%2Dmixed%20mortar%20is%20a,quarts%20for%20an%2080%23%20bag.
Add only water to dry cement, and you just have wet cement.
Yeah, I was just trying to be clever. Should have made a Quickrete joke.
Should have kept it a Sakrete.
OK, trowel it on.
An operator license is not a guarantee of ability!
Try to find one big rig obeying the speed limit. A few are close, most are not. Saw one pulled along side the 101 two days ago trying to avoid CHP truck stop. That means knowingly overloaded….
Would Bell Springs Road from Alderpoint Road get around the accident to get South?
The CAD said no alternate route, however, hwy 101 is now opened to one-way traffic.
It would take just as long as waiting for the road to open FYI
Please post if traffic remains open after long lines are let thru..
If traffic conditions change, we will update as soon as that information is available to us.
Too bad about “Lane’s Redwood Flat.” Lots of vintage photos make it seem like a badly-missed chance for tourism dollars.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smithe_Redwoods_State_Natural_Reserve
Except the alternatives at the time were to have it become part of state parks or be logged. I doubt “Stump Flat” would have been much of a tourist attraction.
But Hartsook’s is another story. It’s borderline criminal that Save the Redwoods League has kept it has a private retreat for their cronies instead of operating it as a resort.
I knew that Hartsook was purchased by the League, but I thought they intended to re-open it as a resort. Wonder why they have not done so. Also, remember when Hartsook was known for a short period of time in the 90s as Heart of the Redwoods Resort?
They sold it to the Campbell family from Hawaii. After they changed the deed that they trees could never be logged They also own heartwood
I think it’s supposed to be AM for the update ?
Thank you for the catch, it has been corrected.
There has been numerous trucks wreck in the turn at the bottom of the hill. Most are disasters. The trucks that crash at Jitney Gulch are usually tip overs and not that disastrous.
Right you are Ernie. That turns deceptively sharp.
With this rain and that chp cruiser sitting where it is looks like a Keystone Cops scene in the making.
Is that a Caltrans truck ⁉️ It’s kinda hard to see but it looks like the Caltrans emblem on the door…?
I just hope the driver of the truck was not seriously injured in the accident. There could have been a number of reasons for the accident. Speed, mechanical failure, forced off to the side of the road, driver not paying attention, etc. Will just have to wait to see if there is any concrete evidence.
I run that route between Eureka and Willits and back five nights a week. I just started seeing these cement haulers out there last week. One went rocketing by northbound as I was heading south – my first thought was that I wouldn’t be surprised to see him dirty side up on my way home. Those things are top heavy to begin with…
Be safe on those night runs friend. Just because it is dark does not seem to slow down may big rig drivers until they make contact with another truck or a tree.