I-55 Free-For-All

What’s with that highway? Close to Springfield, we had a truck full of butter burn up on it yesterday, another crash last night and then there was a plane landing on it near Dwight last evening.

DWIGHT -- Three men escaped injury when a small plane made an emergency landing Tuesday afternoon on Interstate 55 near Dwight, state police at Pontiac said.

The 1980 Beechcraft A36 Bonanza single-propeller plane was headed for Pontiac’s airport for refueling while en route from Detroit, Mich., to Moline. During its approach to Pontiac airport, the plane had engine problems, police said.

The pilot, Larry Kerr, 46, of Moline, made an emergency landing at 5:52 p.m. Tuesday on southbound Interstate 55 about three miles south of the Dwight exit.

Two semitrailer truck drivers helped by blocking traffic behind the aircraft as it landed, police said. The aircraft had minor damage when its right wing clipped a delineator post. The 4-foot-tall steel posts mark each tenth of a mile.

The plane was towed to Pontiac’s airport. The FAA is investigating.

Happy motoring!

Update: Even more 55 fun.