UDPATE: The house trailer that fell onto the Capital Beltway on Thursday afternoon and snarled traffic has been removed.
Crews were seen hauling away the prefabricated home at 5:37 p.m., about 20 minutes earlier than state police initially estimated it would be cleared from the roadway.
The house was being transported by tractor trailer when at 12:19 p.m. a car changed lanes and cut the driver of the tractor trailer off, just north of Dulles Toll Road.
The driver of the tractor trailer then swerved into another lane to avoid hitting the encroaching vehicle, but in doing so collided with a Ford F-450 pickup, a state police spokeswoman said.
The trailer flipped and the house hit the pavement.
No one was injured, and so far no charges have been filed in the crash, but the damage to traffic flow in the area was done.
Delays persisted throughout the day as Maryland drivers using the Beltway to enter Virginia inevitably had to pass by the crash scene.
The Virginia Department of Transportation estimates that portion of highway sees 412,000 cars per day.
The area is also a construction hot spot, as a new Metro rail extension is being constructed over that portion of the Beltway. The new Metro line will eventually connect to Dulles International Airport.
FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. – A house has landed on the Capital Beltway, though, thankfully, Dorothy and her little dog were not inside.
A trailer carrying a prefabricated home that was being pulled by a tractor overturned in the southbound lanes of Interstate 495 in Fairfax County, just north of Dulles Toll Road at 12:19 p.m.
The driver of the truck swerved to miss another vehicle that crossed into his path, and when doing so, hit a Ford F-450 pickup, said Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller.
No one was injured, but the crash left debris all over the roadway blocking travel lanes, said Geller.
Police and Virginia Department of Transportation crews were able to reopen three southbound lanes that were previously blocked by debris by 1:35 p.m., but police say drivers should steer clear of the Beltway if at all possible this afternoon to avoid delays that have been caused by the crash.
“Because the trailer was destroyed in the crash, it cannot be towed from the scene. Therefore, VDOT is responding with construction equipment and dumpsters to remove the prefabricated house and debris,” said Geller.
Police hope to clear the remaining debris by 6 p.m.
The crash remains under investigation, said Geller.
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