Click for printable version
Click to send to a friend

Saturday, August 04, 2001
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Truck accident snarls traffic near dam

Authorities are calling Friday morning's truck accident near Hoover Dam an "apple turnover," apparently hoping some humor will ease the aggravation of travelers who will experience delays there through today.

Authorities said work will continue through about noon today to repair some 300 feet of guardrail that was destroyed at 2:30 a.m. Friday by a truck hauling 70,000 pounds of apples.

"She took the curve too quickly, and the truck flipped over," said Bureau of Reclamation spokeswoman Colleen Dwyer. "They're calling it an apple turnover."

The driver and her 3-year-old granddaughter were not injured in the single-vehicle accident. The truck was delivering its cargo to Nogales, Mexico, according to the Nevada Highway Patrol.

The accident occurred on U.S. Highway 93, two miles north of the dam on the Nevada side, according to the Nevada Department of Transportation.

Department officials and the Highway Patrol were telling motorists that until this afternoon they should use U.S. Highway 95 to cross the Colorado River at Laughlin and Bullhead City, Ariz. That's a detour of more than 70 miles.

Traffic was being escorted through the Hoover Dam area around flaggers during cleanup and repair operations. Lanes in both directions were shut down while the truck was removed. Workers also transferred crates of apples to another trailer during the cleanup.

Dwyer said traffic was backed up for five miles to Boulder City on Friday. This was the third time this year traffic has been snarled near the dam because of accidents, she said. Traffic was still moving at a crawl Friday afternoon.

"Over the years, we've had accidents involving a chicken truck, a watermelon truck and a french-fry truck. They must be having a barbecue down there," she said.

No nuclear waste shipments have been involved in accidents at the dam.

However, in 1997 a hazardous-waste hauler was cited for transporting a leaky drum of nitric acid after he was stopped for a routine safety inspection when he crossed the dam from Arizona heading to Las Vegas, according to the Nevada Highway Patrol.

Review-Journal writer J.M. Kalil and The Associated Press contributed to this report.