Oregon Highway closed after landslide nails semi truck, blocking roadway 

Highway 30 in Oregon has been shut down Thursday after a landslide struck a semi truck, causing the truck and a pile of dirt to block the roadway. 

The landslide happened on Wednesday night, November 30th on Highway 30 between Astoria and Clatskanie. The same portion of roadway is shut down on Thursday, December 1st with no estimated time of reopening. 

Traffic engineers say that recent heavy rains prompted the landslide that trapped the semi truck. No one was hurt in the incident. 

“We’re seeing what Oregon typically throws at [us] during a storm in late fall and winter, so heavy rain is likely the trigger,” said David House with ODOT to News 10.

“This land is an active landslide, and has been for thousands of years. This is an area where we’ve had slides in the past and will have more in the future. Everyone needs to slow down, This time of year it’s darker sooner, days are shorter, stopping distance is shorter, and we see a lot of debris on the road that you may not notice until you hit it.”

House says that drivers should find alternate routes, but adds that there are no nearby alternatives to Highway 30. 

“If your GPS is showing you an undeveloped road as a detour don’t be tempted to use that, that could be dangerous in this kind of weather,” he said.