Massachusetts

Highway Sign Falls, Lands on Vehicle on I-93 in Somerville

No one was injured, MassDOT said

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The morning commute came to a halt in Somerville, Massachusetts, Friday morning when part of a large green highway sign came crashing down onto an SUV on Interstate 93.

Around 9:10 a.m., a portion of an overhead sign came loose and landed in the right travel lane of I-93 north near Sullivan Square, Massachusetts Department of Transportation officials said.

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State police said a Honda CRV was struck, but the driver, a 25-year-old woman from Quincy, was not injured.

“I can’t imagine being driving on the highway especially with the weather and having something like that fall on my car,” said Cara O’Neil. “It would be very scary.”

“It’s hard to believe right,” said Greg Boom. “You think if something is decaying and aging out maybe we’d get some insight prior to something like this happening.”

This is not the first time a sign like this has toppled over recently. In August, a sign fell on Interstate 190 in Worcester.

As for Friday morning’s incident, MassDot crews removed the rest of the sign and inspected nearby structures to make sure everything was safe for drivers below.

The impact to the highway lasted several hours as MassDOT restricted two right travel lanes on I-93 north.

Transportation officials have not yet determined what exactly caused the sign to fall down Friday, but an investigation is ongoing.

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