At roughly 5pm on Thursday, a tractor trailer filled to the brim with what looked like construction debris overturned just yards from the westbound exit of the Mid-Hudson Bridge, causing massive delays and a multi-agency emergency response. I missed the accident by minutes.

Facebook/Mitz Son
Facebook/Mitz Son
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Accident on Mid-Hudson Bridge Exit in Highland, NY

Something held me up leaving the office, and I came across the scene at 5:08pm, just as traffic began to build up and the entire westbound lane exiting the Mid-Hudson Bridge was closed. Vehicles like mine were still attempting to cross the bridge... where would we go? Luckily there's a "secret" exit that comes in handy for emergencies like this...

Jonah
Jonah
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Traffic Backup in Highland, NY

I contemplated making a U-turn as I wondered what was causing such a dramatic delay, but then the car in front of me started crawling forward. I could see that the road in front of us was completely closed, so where were we going? Hudson Valley lifers know exactly where we were headed.

Jonah
Jonah
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Johnson-Iorio Park in Highland, NY

The gated entrance to Johnson-Iorio Park in Highland, NY, directly next to the west side of the Mid-Hudson Bridge, had been opened. It's more famously known as the old bridge approach. Today, it was going to be the savior for hundreds of Hudson Valley motorists.

Jonah
Jonah
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It was the perfect escape route for vehicles that otherwise would have had nowhere to turn. Traffic still crawled as we slowly entered the park, but it was better than waiting until the massive truck was removed from the road. The route follows Haviland Rd and eventually meets Route 9W (below).

Google/Jonah/Facebook/Mitz Son
Google/Jonah/Facebook/Mitz Son
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It took hours for the truck and debris to be cleared, with many motorists reporting waits of up to 1.5 hours to cross the bridge. As of this morning, traffic was moving smoothly and there was no sign of the chaos from the night before. Check out the video below and keep scrolling to learn even more about the Mid-Hudson Bridge.

5 Things You Didn't Know About Mid-Hudson Bridge

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