Up To 40 Vehicles Including Semi Trucks Involved In 2nd Knik Bridge Crash; Now Say There Were Injuries
January 25th, 2024 UPDATE: 4:50 PM Exactly A Month Ago, On Christmas Day, A Crash At Knik Bridge Involved 7 Vehicles After Reports Of...
January 25th, 2024
UPDATE: 4:50 PM Exactly A Month Ago, On Christmas Day, A Crash At Knik Bridge Involved 7 Vehicles After Reports Of No Serious Injuries, 13 People Reportedly Went To Hospital After (Estimated) 40-Vehicle PileupSemi Trucks Also Reportedly Involved Temperature: -11°F TROOPER REPORT:
Location: Knik Arm BridgeType: Multiple Motor Vehicle CollisionDispatch Text:
On January 24, 2024, at 10:35am, the Alaska State Troopers received a report that multiple vehicles had collided in the southbound lanes of the Glenn Highway, near Mile 30. Investigation revealed that a driver on the Knik River bridge began heavy breaking to avoid hitting another vehicle in the same lane. The breaking vehicle lost traction on the icy bridge and began spinning. Another vehicle in the same southbound lane then collided with the spinning vehicle. There was dense fog at the time of the collision, with only one vehicle-length of visibility. Nearly a dozen vehicles continued to collide with the initially involved vehicles. With the limited visibility, additional vehicles then began a chain reaction of rear-end collisions, in trying to avoid hitting one another. The total number of vehicles involved in the collisions was 37. A number of people were injured. Some were transported to local area hospitals. Troopers are not aware of anyone receiving life-threatening injuries.
During the emergency response, both directions of traffic were diverted to the Old Glenn Highway. The northbound lanes of the Glenn Highway opened just after 1:00pm and the southbound lanes opened at 2:15pm.
Troopers in the Mat-Su Valley are asking anyone involved in the collisions, who have not already been interviewed by police or troopers, to please call them at (907) 352-5401 and to reference the case number AK24007954.
Troopers would also like to remind drivers to be aware of foggy and icy conditions on the highways and adjust their driving accordingly.
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UPDATE: 1:10 PM Knik River Bridge Major Pileup 30 To 40 Vehicles Involved In Crash Dense Fog, Bridge Icier Than Highway
Dispatch Text:
On January 24, 2024, at 10:35am, the Alaska State Troopers received a report that multiple vehicles had collided in the southbound lanes of the Glenn Highway, near Mile 30. Investigation revealed that a driver on the Knik River bridge began heavy breaking to avoid hitting another vehicle in the same lane. The breaking vehicle lost traction on the icy bridge and began spinning. Another vehicle in the same southbound lane then collided with the spinning vehicle. There was dense fog at the time of the collision, with only one vehicle-length of visibility. Nearly a dozen vehicles continued to collide with the initially involved vehicles. With the limited visibility, additional vehicles then began a chain reaction of rear-end collisions, in trying to avoid hitting one another. The total number of vehicles involved in the collisions was 37. A number of people were injured. Some were transported to local area hospitals. Troopers are not aware of anyone receiving life-threatening injuries.
During the emergency response, both directions of traffic were diverted to the Old Glenn Highway. The northbound lanes of the Glenn Highway opened just after 1:00pm and the southbound lanes opened at 2:15pm.
Troopers in the Mat-Su Valley are asking anyone involved in the collisions, who have not already been interviewed by police or troopers, to please call them at (907) 352-5401 and to reference the case number AK24007954.
Troopers would also like to remind drivers to be aware of foggy and icy conditions on the highways and adjust their driving accordingly.
Glenn Highway Closed Both Ways
More Collisions Even After First Responders Arrived, Reports Say
"Icy Conditions" Say Troopers Multiple Vehicles Collide – Once More – On Knik River Bridge
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| "2nd Knik River Bridge" (Photo, DOT ) |
On Christmas Day 2023, seven vehicles hit each other on the Knik River Bridge, leading to hospitalizations and the closure of the Glenn Highway. Now, a month later – to the day – it's happened again.
Troopers said the southbound lanes of the Glenn Highway at the Parks/Glenn interchange were closed until further notice in an emergency alert issued between 11 am and noon on Thursday, January 25th, 2024.
Troopers said a new collision, involving a number of cars, occurred just before 11:30 am. Traffic was being sent over the Old Glenn, Troopers said.
The Knik River bridges were built in 1965 and 1990, and are part of a planned reconstruction project.
There have been a number of incidents involving icy bridges in Anchorage over the past months. In addition to these two incidents on the Knik Bridge, there were two spectacular incidents where vehicles suddenly hurtled off Anchorage overpasses and fell onto the highways below.
