ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Wednesday, August 7, 1996              TAG: 9608070061
SECTION: VIRGINIA                 PAGE: C3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JON CAWLEY 

CONCRETE SLAB JAMS UP I-81 TRAFFIC FOR MILES

A 17,000-pound concrete slab caused a seven-mile traffic backup Tuesday on Interstate 81.

A SGA Transport truck, southbound on I-81 near Exit 141, was unable to stop when traffic slowed ahead at about 9:10 a.m. The truck locked its brakes and hit an Estes Express Lines truck, State Trooper G.K. Harth said.

The SGA truck's load, a slab of concrete bound for a construction site in Blacksburg, shifted and came through the back window on the passenger side of the truck, Harth said.

The right southbound lane was blocked until around noon, backing traffic up to the Troutville truck scales, while a wrecker slid the load back onto the truck's trailer.

"Had the load not shifted, traffic would have cleared quickly," Harth said. "Most of the damage and all of the tie-up was a result of the shift."

The SGA driver was charged with following too closely, Harth said.

No injuries were reported.

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