Collier County, Florida: Cement Mixer and Semi Crash Blocks Alligator Alley on Interstate 75 in Both Directions

A cement mixer and a semitrailer crashed on Thursday morning on Interstate 75 along Alligator Alley in Collier County, Florida, and the crash blocked the road in both directions for hours, the Florida Highway Patrol said. The highway is the main road link between Southwest Florida and Miami.

The crash at mile marker 63

The patrol announced at about 9:45 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 5, that the two commercial trucks had crashed in the southbound lanes of Interstate 75 at mile marker 63, the Naples Daily News reported. Traffic backed up for about 2 miles in each direction.

The road remained blocked in both directions at about 12:45 p.m., more than three hours after the patrol's announcement. CBS News Miami also reported on Thursday morning that the crash had closed both directions of Interstate 75, called Alligator Alley, in Collier County.

Drivers turned around in the median

Live cameras near mile marker 63 showed southbound drivers attempting to use the median to make a U-turn and take a detour further north, the Naples Daily News reported. On a road that crosses the Everglades with long stretches between exits, a full closure leaves drivers with few choices, and the cameras showed some of them making their own.

What officials have not said

The extent of injuries, and how many people were injured, remained unknown when the Naples report was published. Authorities are probing the crash, the report said. Neither report named a cause, and neither report said when the road would reopen.

Drivers crossing South Florida on Thursday were left to wait for the patrol's next update, or to leave Interstate 75 well before mile marker 63 and cross on another route. The Orbit Post will update this story when the patrol releases injury information or a reopening time.

What happens next

The next facts in this story belong to the patrol. Two damaged commercial trucks have to come off the southbound lanes, investigators have to work out how the mixer and the semitrailer came together, and the injured have to be counted before the picture is complete. Until the patrol speaks again, the confirmed record stays short: two trucks, one blocked interstate, backups of about 2 miles in each direction, and a closure that ran at least three hours past the first announcement. That short record is also the useful one for anyone deciding whether to cross the Everglades today.