‘Have you ever?’ Wind turbine blunder causes Tri-Cities highway stir

It wasn’t your normal road hazard.

Drivers on Highway 395 south of Kennewick on Wednesday were stopped in their tracks by an unusual sight.

A 240-foot-long wind turbine blade was broadside across four traffic lanes near Ridgeline Drive about 2:20 p.m.

The driver was supposed to skirt past the Tri-Cities by going on Interstate 82 to Interstate 182, but he made a wrong turn, Washington State Patrol Trooper Chris Thorson, said.

Thorson tweeted this reaction:

“Have you ever taking the wrong turn, then have to back up your 240 foot long trailer (wind mill blade) in order to get turned around? Yeah, neither have I ....”

Once the driver realized his mistake, he immediately stopped before getting into town. The only problem was navigating the 240-foot propeller blade back in the other direction.

The trucker backed the blade onto Ridgeline Drive so that it could get going south instead.

The whole maneuver took about five minutes to accomplish, Thorson said.

This story was originally published October 14, 2020 at 8:48 PM.