TRAFFIC ALERT: Tractor-trailer fire stalls westbound travel on I-40 during rush hour

Westbound traffic on Interstate 40 remains backed up into the Little Rock area because of a tractor-trailer fire near Maumelle on Tuesday, March 28, 2017.
Westbound traffic on Interstate 40 remains backed up into the Little Rock area because of a tractor-trailer fire near Maumelle on Tuesday, March 28, 2017.

A tractor-trailer fire on Interstate 40 near Maumelle left traffic at a standstill during the evening rush hour Tuesday, according to the Arkansas State Police.

State police spokesman Bill Sadler said authorities were still on scene about 5:30 p.m. working to extinguish the fire and investigate.

The fire appeared to have engulfed a tractor-trailer just off westbound lanes of the highway, said Danny Straessle, a spokesman for the state Highway and Transportation Department.

Straessle said his agency was still working to confirm details of the blaze.

Westbound traffic on I-40 in the area was not closed down as of about 5:30 p.m., though travel in that direction was stalled as far south as the Big Rock Interchange on Interstate 430 and into North Little Rock on I-40.

No other vehicles were reported as being involved in the fire as of Monday evening.

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