Northbound 57 Freeway shut after semi-truck accident sends motor grader into roadway

The northbound 57 Freeway near Anaheim will remain closed for several hours Wednesday because of a semi-truck accident that left pieces of heavy equipment scattered across the roadway.

The semi-truck driver was exiting the westbound 91 Freeway headed onto southbound 57 when, for unknown reasons, he lost control and crashed into the center divider where the pole for a large road sign sits.

The Caterpillar 140M motor grader that the driver was hauling launched off the trailer and landed in the carpool lane of the northbound side of the 57 Freeway. No one, including the big rig driver, was injured.

Drivers are encouraged to take an alternate route, as the northbound lanes of the 57 will remain closed for several hours as workers clear debris and repair the road sign.

The northbound 57 Freeway is closed from Lincoln Avenue to the 5 Freeway. Additionally, drivers on the 22 Freeway and northbound drivers on the 5 will not be allowed to exit onto the northbound 57. The carpool lane and adjacent lane of the southbound 57 are also closed, but traffic is otherwise moving, authorities said.

“It’s a parking lot on the [northbound] 57,” said CHP Officer Florentino Olivera. “There’s no need to bring more cars in.”