Rockslide causes problems on I-75 Monday

This semi truck stalled out in the median when it was forced to avoid a rockslide on I-75 Monday.

Traffic on Interstate 75 was reduced to one lane in both directions Monday night after a rock slide forced a truck driver to slam on his brakes, leaving the truck jack-knifed in the median.

“The cable barrier stopped the truck from crossing the median,” said Officer Steve Douglas of Kentucky State Police, Division of Commercial Vehicle Enforcement.

The wreck occurred about 9:15 p.m. near the 24-mile marker.

According to Douglas, the truck driver, Harvinder. S. Dhaliwal, 24, of Ontario, Canada, was traveling north when he noticed a large boulder lying in the road.

Despite his efforts, Dhaliwal was unable to stop the truck before striking the boulder. The truck went sliding across the roadway and into the median before coming to rest against the cable barrier.

The impact sent the boulder through the median and over the barrier where it came to rest in the passing lane of the southbound interstate.

Smaller pieces of debris was scattered across the northbound lanes. Douglas said at least three other vehicles were damaged.

“The damage was so minor that all of the drivers declined accident reports,” Douglas said.

Douglas said at the time of the accident, Dhaliwal was en route to Ontario with a load of clearcoat powder that he had picked up in August, Ga.

“It wasn’t anything that was hazardous or explosive,” Douglas said.

This is the second wreck in the area caused by a rockslide. In September, a tractor-trailer overturned when the driver swerved to miss a falling boulder.

While traffic was backed up for several hours, no one was injured.

Jonathon Dobson, spokesperson for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet in Manchester, said the slide was likely caused by a combination of the large amount of precipitation and the changes in temperature.

While there is no schedule similar to the inspection of bridges, Dobson said transportation officials do monitor such areas for potential slides and take preventative measures.

“They know where the trouble spots are and they try to constantly monitor them,” Dobson said.