Closed I-40 Lane In Sequoyah County Causes Traffic Jam After Eclipse

Thousands of people left Arkansas after watching the solar eclipse, and when they got near Sallisaw and Vian on I-40, traffic came to a standstill because it was down to one lane.

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation said it planned to keep traffic flowing but had to close a lane on Monday because a crash from a few weeks ago created a safety issue.

Vickie Washburn lives in Owasso and was coming home from Mississippi with a friend.

They decided to stop in Arkansas to watch the eclipse, which turned their three-hour drive into six and a half hours.

"Traffic was all but stopped,” Vickie said. “Most of the way, it was 5 to 20 miles an hour for miles and miles and miles."

She says it was at the end of a four-day trip, and she was ready to get home.

"We've put nearly three thousand miles on the car, it's getting late. We're tired. We've been in the car since 8 in the morning. I'm frustrated, I'm cranky, I'm tired," said Washburn.

The director of ODOT said last month they were ready for the thousands of visitors and planned to make things go as smoothly as possible.

"We're looking at pausing maintenance activities and taking a hard look at our construction projects to make sure we can optimize traffic flow out of the area," Tim Gatz, Executive Director of ODOT said.

But that didn't happen when people were stuck for hours on I-40 in Sequoyah County because only one lane was open.

ODOT sent News On 6 the following statement:

"With safety being ODOT’s top priority, a lane closure was in place on I-40 near Vian in Sequoyah County on Monday due to a safety issue as a result of an earlier crash. The lane was only opened temporarily and monitored during that time to help alleviate traffic in the area and was put back in place until the issue can be addressed."

Vickie says the worst part about the traffic jam was not knowing why it was happening.

"Not knowing what the heck was going on and why we couldn't move faster was frustrating," said Washburn. 

Vickie says if she had known it would have taken 6 hours to get home, she wouldn't have stopped to watch the solar eclipse because she's seen one before.