The Montana Highway Patrol on Monday afternoon closed a section of Montana Highway 40 between Whitefish and Columbia Falls after learning that numerous boxes of nails were scattered in multiple locations along the four-mile thoroughfare connecting U.S. Highway 93 to U.S. Highway 2.
According to an incident report from the Montana Department of Transportation, crews were still working at 2:40 p.m. to clear the nails from various locations along the roadway. They initially shut down both lanes of travel, with Flathead County Sheriff’s Office authorities assisting, but opened a single lane of travel at 3:45 p.m.
“It has been deemed too hazardous for travelers to use roadway,” according to the report.
The suspect vehicle responsible for dropping or dumping the nails has not been identified.