Update: Traffic slowed for more than hour after SC 170 closed at Broad River Bridge. Here’s why

Two vehicle accidents blocked the westbound lanes of S.C. 170 at the Broad River bridge for more than an hour on Monday morning, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.

Traffic cameras showed traffic that normally would be heading from Beaufort to Bluffton backed up along Robert Smalls Parkway to the Savannah Highway just after 7 a.m.

The westbound lanes reopened just after 8:30 a.m., according to the Sheriff’s Office. Eastbound lanes of S.C. 170 remained open the entire time, officials said.

Capt. Bob Bromage, spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office, said a chain of events started when a box fell off a vehicle crossing the bridge about 7:10 a.m. and created a hazard.

The two accidents — each involving two vehicles — happened in the vicinity shortly thereafter, Bromage said.

One person was transported by ambulance to a local hospital with injuries, he said.

Information about the types of vehicles involved was not available.

This story was originally published October 4, 2018 at 7:46 AM.