It took nearly seven hours for police and road crews to clear the highway and reopen all lanes following the 4:17 a.m. accident and fire on the Albertson's grocery store truck.
Three hours after the fire started, the 18-wheeler continued to smolder and send white smoke into the sky just north of Coyote Creek Golf Drive.
Traffic was backed up several miles. Many motorists began to use Monterey Road as an alternative route, and traffic was grew heavy there as well.
The two left lanes were originally expected to reopen by about 8:30 a.m., a CHP dispatcher said in Monterey. But as that time approached, the estimate was pushed back a couple times, until the road was back in full service at about 11 a.m.
In the meantime, traffic crawled past the scene in the slow lane and on the shoulder.
