N I-5 reopens after toppled crane causes shutdown

A toppled crane blocked all northbound lanes of Interstate 5 at Avenida Pico in San Clemente Thursday afternoon into early Friday morning, creating a 13-hour gridlock on the freeway that extended into San Diego County.

During the Thursday evening commute, vehicles were backed up to Camp Pendleton, Caltrans reported. Some motorists said it took more than four hours to travel from San Diego to Orange County. Drivers were allowed to use the freeway shoulder to bypass the accident.

Two cranes were sent to move the 120,000-pound crane that fell from a trailer being hauled by a big rig, said Caltrans spokesman David Richardson.

Caltrans tweeted at 11:25 p.m. Thursday that the toppled crane was upright and ready to be placed on a trailer. Another tweet sent shortly before 4 a.m. Friday said all north lanes had been reopened.

The accident occurred about 3:10 p.m. Thursday. The California Highway Patrol said the crane struck the center divider of an overpass several times, breaking off chunks of concrete, some going into the southbound lanes. The south lanes were closed for about 90 minutes.

Richardson said the truck driver was not injured. Authorities were still investigating what caused the accident.

A diesel spill was contained on the freeway. None of the fuel got into storm drains, Richardson said.