Truck drivers got a firsthand look at the new Legacy Highway on Wednesday when an accident on I-15 led officials to open the route to all vehicles.
The crash happened about 9:30 a.m. and blocked traffic on both U.S. Highway 89 and I-15. For about 40 minutes, Utah Department of Transportation officials allowed semitrailers to use Legacy, which is otherwise off-limits to semitrailers.
"It's great to have the option to do that," said UDOT spokesman Nile Easton. "Three weeks ago, everybody would have just been stuck."
UDOT officials will continue opening Legacy to truck drivers when freeway crashes pose significant traffic problems, Easton said.
"Hopefully we don't have to do it very often," he said. "We work with whatever law enforcement is there and evaluate the impact. If it's going to be bad, that's when we look at opening Legacy."