Caught in I-90 truck crash jam

Jacques Lemieux of Kellogg writes:

“I was one of hundreds — thousands? —  caught in the semi wreck last Friday.

“I applaud the actions of the First Responders who saved the life of the driver, but I have to voice extreme frustration at the lack of traffic control on the freeway and point out the very easy way the 9 mile congestion could have been considerably lessened.

“This accident occurred at approximately 5:45 a.m.  When I was stopped on the Cataldo bridge at 12:45 p.m. there was still NOT any warning of the traffic stop ahead.  I did see a man driving a DOT car placing fuses on the shoulder and indication we should slow down.

“This was before the Cataldo exit.  It would have been very easy to direct traffic off the freeway at Cataldo and west on the frontage road.

“After we realized the situation, several other locals and I drove west on the shoulder of the freeway and exited at the Mission exit, across the slough to Whiteman lumber and west on the frontage road.  Kootenai County or Idaho State Police could have been directing people to do the exact same thing.

“I know this was a tough situation, but KCSD and ISP, in my opinion, created far more of a problem than need be by not doing traffic control on the east end of this situation.

“The frontage road west from Whiteman Lumber was NOT slick/icy.  One of the rigs who made a break for it with me, was a Toyota sedan and he had no trouble at all getting to Rose Lake and back on the freeway with us.

“I think KCSD and ISP need to do a serious review of their handling of this situation and revise/institute their procedures.”