Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

All I-65 Lanes Now Open in Barren County Following Vehicle Fire

All lanes are now open on I-65 southbound following Saturday morning's tractor-trailer fire. Kentucky State Police Trooper Jonathan Biven says the vehicle was carrying potentially hazardous chlorine materials. The tractor-trailer caught fire Saturday at mile marker 55 around 7:30am, with the driver pulling off the road. Nobody was injured, and no other vehicles were involved.

Update at 5:12pm:

Wondering why it's taking so long for crews to clean up the aftermath of this morning's tractor-trailer fire on I-65 in Barren County? Kentucky State Police Trooper Jonathan Biven says the vehicle was carrying potentially hazardous chlorine materials.

The tractor-trailer caught fire this morning at mile marker 55 around 7:30am, with the driver pulling over on the interstate. Nobody was injured, and no other vehicles were involved.

Southbound traffic on I-65 between Munfordville and Cavie City will likely be restricted to one lane until well into the late evening.

Both northbound lanes were opened by the early afternoon, while crews managed to get one southbound lane up and running around 3pm.

Update at 3:42pm:

One southbound lane of I-65 in Barren County is now open. The detour is no longer in effect.

Both lanes should be open in approximately 2 hours.

WKU Public Radio will get the word out when the all-clear is given by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.

Update at 3:03pm:

While the northbound lanes are open, the latest from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet says southbound I-65 remains closed at 3pm central time:

Southbound remains closed. SB detour remains active.

Complete cleanup is expected to last another 3 hours.

Personnel on scene are working toward opening one SB lane as soon as possible.

Both north and southbound lanes of I-65 were closed this mornign

between Munfordville and Cave City after a tractor-trailer caught on fire. The driver was able to pull over, and was not injured.

No other vehicles were involved. Compounding the problem is the fact today is the Kentucky high school marching band finals at WKU. Reports says school buses carrying band students, equipment buses, and parents were part of the convoy having to be detoured during the lane closures.

Update at 12:37pm:

Northbound lanes of I-65 are now open in the Barren County area.

Southbound remains closed and detour remains in effect from Munfordville (exit 65) to Cave City (exit 53). Closure for southbound cleanup will take several hours.

Will continue to update.

Update at 12:08pm:

Detour routes remain in effect same as from the 10:30 update.

Materials from the crash vehicle have still not cooled down enough to allow opening of northbound.

Still estimating that southbound will be closed for several hours.

Northbound can be opened when the materials mentioned above cool enough for safe passage.

Update at 10:47am:

From the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet:

Crews are now clearing southbound queue only. Southbound I65 remains closed. EM is waiting on the crash vehicle temperature to cool enough to allow opening of northbound, probably within the hour.

Southbound will likely be closed several more hours for cleanup.

Detours from previous release remain in effect.

Traffic is heavy on US 31W. Motorists may wish to use US 31E as an alternate.

Local traffic should use caution crossing intersections of the alternate routes.

Commercial traffic passing through between Bowling Green and Elizabethtown is urged to use the Natcher and WK Parkways.

Original Post:

Elizabethtown, KY (October 27, 2012) – Interstate 65 is closed north and southbound between Cave City and Munfordville near the Barren County line due to a commercial vehicle accident.  Northbound traffic is being directed off the interstate at Cave City (Exit 53) and back on the interstate at Munfordville (Exit 65).  Southbound traffic is being detoured off at Munfordville and back on at Cave City using US 31W and US 31E.  (The initial detour was via Horse Cave at Exit 58.  The new detour includes Munfordville at Exit 65)

Traffic volume is extremely heavy on the interstate with the Kentucky Music Educators Association Marching Band Championships in the Bowling Green area.  More than 50 high schools and their followers are using corridors including Interstate 65 this morning.  For those traveling south towards Bowling Green for this event, US 31E to Glasgow and then to Interstate 65 via the Louie B. Nunn Cumberland Parkway will also provide an alternate route.

Local traffic should use caution when crossing US 31W and US 31E intersections.

Commercial vehicles going through from Bowling Green/Elizabethtown may wish to utilize the Natcher Parkway and the Western Kentucky Parkway as a detour.

The closure is expected to last another 3 hours, or around 12:30pm central time.