Truck driver and owner Terry L. Page stands on an 11-ton slab of concrete that fell from his truck and into the median of Interstate 20 Thursday. (The Vicksburg Post/C. Todd Sherman)

[10/10/02]Concrete slabs estimated to weigh 15 tons slid off the trailer of an 18-wheeler Thursday, blocking traffic in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 20 at midday.

Driver Terry L. Page of Castor, La., said a small truck merging from the Indiana Avenue ramp crossed into the left lane in front of him.

Page, 44, said he immediately hit his brakes, and the load shifted and slid off the trailer.

No one was injured.

“I’m glad no one was killed,” Page said shortly after the 11:30 accident. “The rest of the stuff we can take care of.” He said he drives the route as many as five times per week. The small truck did not stop.

Page was issued a ticket for spilling his load onto the highway.

Vicksburg Police closed the interstate while a Riverside Construction crew used a crane to lift the slabs back onto the trailer bed.

Vicksburg Police Lt. David Beard said traffic was delayed or stopped until midafternoon in what is just the most recent closure along I-20 at Vicksburg.

“Vicksburg is terrible, traffic-wise,” Page said. “It’s the worst part of the whole (interstate).”

An average of 40,000 cars pass through the area daily and, with that much traffic, comes wrecks, said Wes Dean, state traffic engineer for the Mississippi Department of Transportation.

“Heavy traffic, relatively closely spaced interchanges and inattentive driving lead to conflicts,” he said.

These problems, coupled with the number of vehicles entering and exiting the interstate, emphasize the need to pay attention while driving through Vicksburg, Dean said.

Three recent closures have been after wrecks on eastbound approaches to the Mississippi River Bridge, which is being painted. Authorities have counted 26 wrecks so far this year near the bridge.

“Bridge work and the delays associated with the painting, have not helped drivers’ attitudes,” Dean said.

Long-range plans have called for three-laning I-20 around Vicksburg and redesigning ramps that no longer meet safety clearances. Some engineering work has been done on that project, but no timetable has been set.

Meanwhile, Vicksburg Officer Leonce Young, who investigates wrecks, said he expects the number to be lower during the winter.

“Excluding the holiday season, we won’t have much traffic on the interstate,” Young said. “And that’s a good thing.”