Semi Rollover West of Steele Shuts Down I-94 for Hours

A tipped semi blocked both westbound lanes of Interstate 94 near mile marker 191, just west of Steele, for the better part of Thursday morning after a multi-vehicle crash that injured at least one person and forced a sweeping detour across the central North Dakota corridor.

The North Dakota Highway Patrol reported at 6:00 a.m. that a semi rollover was blocking both lanes on westbound I-94 west of Steele at mile marker 191. Multiple vehicles appear to have been involved. Troopers said the interstate would be closed for an extended period of time as crews worked to clear the scene and investigate the crash.

A detour was put in place, with drivers going west directed to exit at Old Highway 10 at exit 195 and plan for delays. The closure on I-94 was still ongoing as of 9:50 a.m., and local radio confirmed the corridor near Steele did not reopen until around 1 p.m., meaning westbound traffic on one of the region's most critical freight arteries was disrupted for roughly seven hours.

The crash was an injury crash involving multiple vehicles. Steele sits between Bismarck and Jamestown, placing mile marker 191 squarely in the stretch of I-94 that Stutsman County travelers and commercial haulers cross routinely. Any closure there cascades east almost immediately, backing up freight bound for Jamestown-area businesses and forcing passenger vehicles onto secondary roads that add significant time to cross-state trips.

The North Dakota Highway Patrol managed traffic control and led the crash investigation while towing and wrecker crews worked to right the semi and clear debris from both westbound lanes. The prolonged timeline reflects the complexity of recovering a tipped semi on a busy interstate and the care required in processing a multi-vehicle injury scene.

State patrol investigators will typically release a more detailed incident report once the scene is fully processed, including any contributing factors such as road or weather conditions, the extent of injuries, and whether citations will be issued. Travelers planning westbound runs through this corridor should monitor the North Dakota Highway Patrol's social media feeds and the North Dakota Department of Transportation's online road-conditions portal before departing, particularly during early morning hours when visibility and surface conditions on I-94 are most unpredictable.