A three-vehicle crash involving a semi-truck and two passenger vehicles injured three people and shut down all lanes of southbound I-43 at Highway 164 in Waukesha County Friday, trapping one driver inside a vehicle for a mechanical extrication before the highway reopened about two hours later.
Emergency crews were dispatched to southbound I-43 at Highway 164 in Big Bend, according to the Big Bend Fire Department, which reported that the crash happened inside an active construction zone and completely blocked all lanes of traffic. As reported by WFRV Local 5, one person was trapped inside their vehicle and required personnel to perform a mechanical extrication before that person could be pulled free and transported to a local hospital for evaluation. Two other people involved in the crash were evaluated and released at the scene, the station's report notes.
Crews spent the closure working to free the trapped driver, tow the damaged vehicles, and clear debris from the roadway before I-43 reopened to traffic, per the same account. Authorities had not released information on what caused the crash as of the station's report.
A Work Zone With a Recent History of Trouble
The crash unfolded within an active WisDOT work zone tied to a multi-year reconstruction project along the I-43 Rock Freeway corridor between WIS 83 in Mukwonago and WIS 164 in Big Bend, where crews are replacing full pavement structures and building a new Diverging Diamond Interchange through 2028, according to the Big Bend Fire Department. The stretch carries roughly 41,500 vehicles a day, per a WisDOT and Breck Athletic Complex planning report, with Highway 164 itself handling more than 10,000 vehicles daily — volume that helps explain how quickly a single crash can snarl the surrounding roads.
This is not the first serious incident at this exact interchange. On May 21, 2026, a fatal rear-end collision between two semi-trucks on northbound I-43 near Highway 164 killed one truck driver and closed the northbound lanes for hours, as reported by WTMJ. That crash also happened around 6 a.m. near the same interchange. Then, in July 2026, WisDOT carried out a 54-hour partial closure of the I-43 and WIS 164 interchange for storm sewer work and roadway widening tied to the reconstruction project, though access to the nearby Big Bend Park and Ride lot was maintained throughout.
Wisconsin's Work Zones Remain a Statewide Safety Concern
Friday's crash adds to a troubling statewide pattern. Preliminary Wisconsin Department of Transportation figures show more than 2,000 work zone crashes occurred across the state in 2025, causing seven fatalities and over 600 injuries, with speed and distraction cited as leading causes. The year before, Wisconsin recorded 2,174 work zone crashes that killed 10 people and injured 779 — averaging roughly one work zone crash every four hours, with driver error accounting for over 90 percent of that year's fatal work zone crashes.
Over the five years from 2020 through 2024, the state saw more than 10,300 work zone crashes resulting in 56 deaths and more than 3,600 injuries, with the vast majority of those killed or hurt being motorists and passengers rather than roadside workers. Wisconsin law automatically doubles traffic fines for moving violations committed in designated work zones, regardless of whether workers are present, and reduced work zone speed limits are legally enforceable at all times. The state's Move Over Law, Wisconsin Statute 346.072, also requires drivers approaching stationary emergency vehicles, maintenance equipment, or tow trucks with active warning lights to clear the adjacent lane or slow down significantly, with violations carrying monetary forfeitures and license points.
The Big Bend Fire Department reported a response to a crash in which one person was trapped in a vehicle and required mechanical extrication. Hoodline previously reported on a fatal Highway 164 truck crash in the same corridor.
