By Scott Sullivan
Editor
This semi that jackknifed on the northbound I-196 Kalamazoo River bridge saw the guardrail do its job on Black Friday, Nov. 29, sparing its driver from an icy plunge.
Saugatuck Township Fire District Deputy Chief Chris Mantels reported crews responded to a 1:58 p.m. call to find the truck had skidded on the season’s first major snow and ice, but its driver unhurt and his rig contained by the barrier.
Department first responders used oil-dry to soak up hazardous fluids leaking from the vehicle before any gad spilled through deck drains into the river, Mantels said.
More STFD crews closed northbound I-196 at Douglas/Ganges Exit 36 until K&R Towing could remove the damaged semi.
The left lane only re-opened to traffic at 4:13 p.m. while the right stayed closed until Michigan Department of Transportation crews arrived.
Give-Em-A-Brake safety replaced STFD cones and arrow trailers late that night with barrels and signage to keep the right lane closed while MDOT installed concrete barriers to replace the truck-severed guardrail there.
The department used its new Traffic Management Apparatus (inset) with buckets to deploy and pick up more than a mile-and-a-half of cones, making the task much safer and easier for crews, Mantels said.
Allegan Sheriff’s deputies and Life EMS assisted on scene. STFD crews returned to the station at 9:26 p.m.
