The Outer Loop of the Capital Beltway in Bethesda, Maryland, completely reopened around 6:22 a.m. Wednesday, after a tractor-trailer struck the Jersey wall near the “Big Curve,” spun around and dumped fuel on the interstate.
The crash at the “Big Curve” above the Interstate 270 Spur occurred around 3:50 a.m., and at one point shut the highway down before traffic got by on the right shoulder, backing up traffic during the light morning commute.
No one was injured as the tractor-trailer driver crashed and the vehicle caught fire, according to tweets from Montgomery County Fire and & Rescue Service spokesman Pete Piringer.
Piringer urged drivers to slow down because roads are slick.
The “Big Curve” is a notorious location for Outer Loop crashes, especially tractor-trailers.
On April 30, at least five tractor-trailers crashed at that location — including two that ended with a jackknifed trucks.
With so many people working from home as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, traffic has been lighter around the region. At the same time, police have seen a dramatic rise in excessive speeding around the region.
A second crash — a head-on collision — involved a a tractor-trailer hauling stone on East Gude Drive near Display Court in Montgomery County.
