Traffic Alert: I-26 reopens after Fort Bragg explosives crew clears overturned truck

BUNCOMBE COUNTY, N.C. (WLOS) — Both eastbound lanes of Interstate-26 have reopened near Exit 37 after a tractor-trailer crash early Tuesday morning.

A representative from Fort Bragg says an Explosives Ordnance Disposal Team was sent in Tuesday to assist in off-loading the vehicle so it could be cleared from the scene.

Officials tell News 13 it was traveling to South Carolina at the time of the crash.

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The North Carolina DOT says the left lane is closed near Exit 37 (Long Shoals Road) along Interstate 26 east in Buncombe County after a tractor-trailer crashed early Tuesday morning.

According to the NCDOT, the crash happened just after 1:30 a.m.

According to a representative from Fort Bragg, an explosive ordnance disposal team was sent to assist with offloading the vehicle, which was on its way to South Carolina when the crash happened.

One person was transported to Mission Hospital with minor injuries.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation says one lane of Interstate 26 eastbound, between the Blue Ridge Parkway and Long Shoals Road, is estimated to remain closed until around 3:30 a.m. Wednesday morning as crews work to remove explosive ordnance from the overturned truck.

The N.C. Department of Transportation is assisting in its role of safely maintaining traffic one lane until the appropriate authorities arrive on the scene to supervise safe handling of the contents.

Officials have notified NCDOT that cargo supervisors will arrive in Asheville this afternoon and crews may need several hours to transfer the cargo and remove the truck.

Alternate routes heading east around the crash are available. Drivers may take I-26 to Exit 33 and head south on N.C. 191/Brevard Road. Drivers may also head east on I-40 to Exit 50 and head south on U.S. 25/Hendersonville Road and turn right on Long Shoals Road to access I-26.

The driver of the truck, identified as 62-year-old Robert Haynes of Arizona City, Arizona, was charged with failure to maintain lane after troopers say he traveled off the road to the left and struck a guardrail in the median and overturned.