US Highway 26 reopens between Warm Springs and Mt. Hood after closure to remove crashed car hauler semi-truck

(Update: Highway 26 reopens after semi removal)

WARM SPRINGS, Ore. (KTVZ) -- U.S. Highway 26 closed for nearly five hours Wednesday between Mt. Hood and Warm Springs for the recovery of a car hauler semi-truck that crashed Tuesday, the Oregon Department of Transportation said.

The closure spanned from Frog Lake at milepost 62 to the junction with OR Highway 216 at milepost 71.

The closure began around 3 p.m. and was expected to last a couple of hours, but ended up taking until nearly 8 p.m. to complete and reopen the road, officials said.

"It was a complex recovery," ODOT Region 4 Public Information Officer Kacey Davey said. "The tow company didn’t have to just address the one semi on its side, but all of the other trucks it was carrying too. It couldn’t have been done safely with the highway open." 

Eastbound travelers were detoured on OR 35 to Interstate 84, and westbound travelers were detoured down OR 216 to U.S. 197. Westbound travelers were advised to stay on U.S. 97 in Madras.

The closure was due to a complex recovery process that blocked the entire highway.