Beer bottles, cans and a roll of steel were the latest cargo to spill onto Fort Washington Way near the Lytle Tunnel on Thursday as two trucks overturned in separate accidents.

Firefighters take Robert Wheeler from his wrecked tractor-trailer Thursday. (Glenn Hartong photos) | ZOOM |

        Rumble strips, video cameras and more warning signs have not slowed the incidence of overturned trucks near the tunnel, and the two accidents Thursday make at least 10 such turnovers this year.

        About 1 p.m. Thursday, a tractor-trailer overturned on southbound Fort Washington Way, just south of the tunnel, causing a traffic backup through rush hour.

        A 2002 Volvo tractor-trailer driven by Robert Wheeler, 53, of Metropolis, Ill., flipped and slid 100 feet before striking a barrier, police said. The truck was transporting beer bottles and beer cans. Mr. Wheeler was treated for minor injuries at University Hospital and was cited for failure to control his vehicle.

        That accident was cleaned up by 7 p.m. At 9:06 p.m., at roughly the same location, a truck overturned and a large roll of steel spilled into southbound lanes.

Cincinnati police officer Ron Hugley investigates the accident south of Lytle Tunnel Thursday. | ZOOM |

        There were no reports of injuries, but Interstate 71 south was closed at the tunnel, as was the ramp from U.S. 50-Columbia Parkway to Fort Washington Way.

        Roughly 100,000 cars and 20,000 trucks a day use the 1.5-mile stretch that connects I-71, I-75 and U.S. 50, according to state transportation officials. While no one has yet been seriously hurt, previous crashes have caused average delays of 4 hours, 24 minutes.

        Overturned trucks have been a constant problem at or near the tunnel since January 2001, shortly after Fort Washington Way became fully operational after a $328 million renovation.

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