GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The slipping and sliding and spinning and crashing continued on West Michigan’s roads Thursday.
I-94 westbound was closed shortly after 9 a.m. between Portage Road and Sprinkle Road due to a crash. Al lanes were reopened around 10:30 a.m.
US-131 southbound was closed at the Shelbyville exit at around the same time. Eventually, traffic was routed off the highway at 129th Avenue. In that crash, a tow truck was pulling a vehicle out of the ditch when another vehicle hit it. The driver of the car that hit the tow truck was seriously hurt.
Most drivers were slowed down by crashes on the expressways, and most of the mishaps took place later in the morning drive as more and more drivers got behind the wheel.
Traffic jams occurred on eastbound I-196 between 44th Street in Grandville and Market Avenue in Grand Rapids, eastbound I-96 from US-131 and Cascade Road due to crashes first near Cascade Road and later at Plainfield Avenue. Traffic on M-6 eastbound crawled along after 9 a.m. due to a crash near Broadmoor Avenue/M-37.
While there were a few accidents early, the real problems began after 7 a.m. when the largest number of drivers started their commutes. There were spin-outs and slide-offs on I-96 eastbound at Alpine Avenue, US-31 northbound between Sherman Boulevard and Laketon Avenue in Muskegon, along with many other locations.
