GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A crash that blocked several lanes of southbound US-131 caused a mega traffic jam on both 131 and eastbound I-96 Tuesday morning.
The crash, located just north of I-196 in downtown Grand Rapids, blocked the left two lanes, forcing four lanes of traffic into one. Traffic at one point was stop-and-go all the way back to Pine Island Drive.
In addition, eastbound I-96 was backed up to past Walker Avenue, both due to the crash on 131 and due to an earlier crash that had backed up traffic from Leonard Street.
The crash was cleared by 8:15 a.m., but the traffic jams lasted much longer.
Other slowdowns occurred simultaneously on westbound I-96 due to a crash near the East Beltline and eastbound I-196 from US-131 to I-96.