KWCH - Kansas News and Weather - I-35 Near Billings, Oklahoma Back Open - Delays Continue

I-35 Near Billings, Oklahoma Back Open - Delays Continue

by Kim Hynes (BRAMAN, Oklahoma)

If you're traveling south Wednesday into Oklahoma, you may run into delays. I-35 near Billings was shut down in both directions for several hours because of car accidents.

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol says things are moving again on one of the busiest travel days of the year.   But it's slow going because only one lane is open in each direction due to construction.

Reporter Video: Kim Hynes at Oklahoma Rest Stop Covering I-35 Backups

The accidents happened in construction zones, which is why traffic was such a problem. The highway patrol says no one was seriously injured, it just took a long time to clean up the debris. That meant drivers went from 75 miles an hour to 0, and stayed that way for more than an hour.

The Accidents are Happening Near the Billings Exit

Drivers tell Eyewitness News, on top of the accidents, people were rubber necking which made the delays even longer. Once they got moving, many drivers stopped in Braman to stretch their legs and get a bathroom break.

Raw Video: Traffic Tied Up on I-35 in Oklahoma

Drivers say it's frustrating to sit in traffic but there's not much you can do about it, especially on the busiest travel day of the year. Some people did try and avoid the stand still. One driver says he made an illegal U-turn and used his GPS to find an alternative route which helped save him time.