WASHINGTON – Hundreds of dead birds blocked traffic for hours Wednesday afternoon on Interstate 95 in Laurel.
The heavy congestion clogged the highway back to Route 212, but the real trouble happened just north of the Intercounty Connector near MD-198 (exit 33).
Inspectors from the Maryland Highway State Administration think the birds were killed after flying into huge power lines that cross the highway and are secured by large towers on either side.
WTOP’s Mark Segraves reports it took him 25 minutes to travel only a few miles on I-95.
The Metropolitan Area Transportation Operations Coordination tweeted shortly before 3 p.m., warning drivers to expect delays due to cleanup. The MATOC warned of 3.5-mile delays around the scene.
Twitter was abuzz with frustrated commuters tweeting about the dead birds.
Below is a sampling of tweets:
I-95 NB after ICC before Rt 198; Traffic stopped for bird body collection. #dctraffic #mdtraffic
— WTOP Traffic (@WTOPtraffic) February 15, 2012
Debris in Roadway, I-95 NB prior to MD-198 (Exit 33), PG Co. MD. Expect delays due to cleanup ops for dead birds. Delays are appx 3.5 miles.
— MATOC Alerts (@MATOC) February 15, 2012
Just sat in a delay on 95 North above the DC beltway…which was caused by hundreds of dead birds scattering the highway
— Webe Cheefin (@WebeCheefin) February 15, 2012
No idea how that many birds could have died so suddenly together in the middle of the road.Blackbirds or something.It was disturbing
— Webe Cheefin (@WebeCheefin) February 15, 2012
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