A nearly two-mile stretch of Interstate 435 between State Line Road and Nall Avenue was shut down early Wednesday morning after a downed power line caused several crashes.
Crews continued to work to make repairs early Wednesday amid blowing snow and gale-force winds.
By 5:30 a.m., the westbound lanes of I-435 were back open. Overland Park Police officials said they expected closures on the eastbound side to last through at least 6 a.m.
Still, authorities are urging drivers to avoid that area of I-435 during the already dicey commute due to the overnight winter storm.
What happened?
Overland Park firefighters initially responded to a report of power lines down on Roe Boulevard near Interstate 435 at 2:28 a.m. Wednesday.
Radio traffic from firefighters arriving on that call reported injury crashes on the eastbound and westbound sides of I-435 near the Roe bridge. That’s when firefighters found that another line was down across the highway.
According to radio traffic, a westbound truck is believed to have caught the low-hanging power line, which brought down several utility poles.
Additional firefighters from Overland Park and Leawood responded to assist with checking for injuries at both crash scenes.
Multiple vehicles involved in crashes
Radio traffic described the scene on westbound I-435 as a six-vehicle crash.
By 3:30 a.m., Johnson County Med-Act ambulances had transported one person to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries from the crash in the westbound lanes.
Firefighters and paramedics determined that no one was injured in the eastbound crash.
In a news release, Overland Park Police Department Captain Mike Melvin said Evergy is working on clearing the lines from the roadway. That work was expected to take two to four hours to complete.
That would put the full reopening of the interstate as late as 8 a.m. Wednesday.
Avoid that stretch of I-435, police say
Police are asking drivers to avoid the area and use an alternate route.
Kansas Highway Patrol troopers are assisting officers from the Overland Park and Leawood police departments with enforcing the closure.
Check back with this report for updates on the closure.
