LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — On Monday, drivers along I-30 were backed up by marble slabs that had apparently flown off a truck. Cleanup efforts shut down parts of the highway for a portion of the afternoon; unfortunately, it's not the first time debris has caused a slowdown in the roadway.
The incident on Monday was the third time in the last week that fallen debris slowed or even temporarily shut down major highways in Little Rock.
After some drivers shared safety concerns with us, we reached out to roadway officials to find out how this happens and how they work to prevent it.
Shannon Newton, the President of the Arkansas Trucking Association acknowledged how in a truck-heavy state like Arkansas accidents do happen, but overall they've actually, been trending downward.
"It is of utmost importance from the commercial perspective that the load is delivered safely," Newton said. "The commercial vehicle accident numbers, kind of trend with the economy, and the economy is not really performing very well in our industry. So you see, miles are down. And accidents are actually trending with that."
Even still, during the last week, three separate debris incidents impacted traffic with two involving what appeared to be commercial vehicles. On Wednesday, raw meat that spilled onto I-30 temporarily shut down the highway and frustrated Little Rock drivers.
While it's been more than usual in the last week, Newton said overall, "A lost load, particularly in this case [involving raw meat], where there was no accident is pretty rare."
To back that up, data shared by the Arkansas Trucking Association and the Department of Transportation shows that last year inspection violations for improper loading nationally were 0.2% and in Arkansas even less, at 0.1%.
Coming alongside the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT) reporting increased inspections overall.
"There was a new focus put in the last couple of years to... keeping an eye on things even more than they were before.," said Dave Parker, ARDOT Communications Director.
Parker shared that between 2022 and 2023, Arkansas Highway Police increased their commercial vehicle inspections from nearly 40,000 to more than 50,000 as they hope to prevent situations like those in the last week.
"Things will spill, things will come flying out of trucks, unfortunately. No one likes it. There are rules in place. Some adhere to those and some unfortunately don't," Parker said.
Those on the roads are asked to drive carefully and remember why the trucks are driving in the first place.
"I think people forget that like your medicine, and your groceries, and the Amazon package, and everything that you enjoy as a modern convenience of your life is riding on those trucks," Newton added.
If you see any emergency situations like debris on the roadway you're asked to call police.
For less emergent conditions like potholes, you can report those directly to Ask ARDOT on their website.