Northbound US-131 came to a standstill in Wyoming on Tuesday afternoon after a four-vehicle crash near the 36th Street exit closed the freeway and left several people injured. The Michigan Department of Transportation reported the wreck at 4:55 p.m., and crews had the roadway reopened by around 6 p.m.
According to MLive, Michigan State Police confirmed the crash involved four vehicles and resulted in reported injuries, though the extent of those injuries has not been detailed. State police are investigating the cause of the collision. The closure stretched across the northbound lanes near the 36th Street exit in Wyoming, forcing drivers to find alternate routes during the evening commute.
The crash adds to a growing tally of incidents along one of West Michigan's most heavily traveled freeway corridors. The stretch of US-131 between 28th Street in Wyoming and downtown Grand Rapids carries more than 120,000 vehicles a day and averages upward of 700 crashes annually, according to traffic data cited in a WOOD TV8 report.
A Freeway With a Long History of Pileups
Nearby interchanges have logged their own troubling numbers. The 28th Street SW and 54th Street SW interchanges in Wyoming recorded 51 and 46 crashes respectively in 2025, per Michigan State Police data compiled by Michigan Auto Law. Just north of Tuesday's crash site, the northbound interchange at Wealthy Street in Grand Rapids logged 78 crashes in 2025 alone, topping Kent County's list of most dangerous intersections for the tenth consecutive year, the same analysis found.
This is not the first time emergency responders and infrastructure along this corridor have faced serious disruption. On December 31, 2024, an oversized semi-truck struck the 144th Avenue overpass near Dorr. In January 2025, a 54-year-old man was fatally injured in a separate US-131 crash involving a semi, a case Michigan State Police investigated.
Roadside Hazards for First Responders
Crash scenes can pose hazards for first responders. Drivers should use caution around roadside emergency scenes.
Freeway closures can disrupt travel along US-131. The US-131 corridor between 28th Street in Wyoming and downtown Grand Rapids remains a heavily traveled route.
Kent County's crash numbers underscore the stakes of road-safety planning. Michigan State Police Criminal Justice Information Center reporting shows the county recorded 17,056 total motor vehicle crashes in a single annual reporting cycle, resulting in 3,162 injuries and 55 fatalities countywide, according to the Buchanan Firm. Tuesday's crash near 36th Street, while cleared within about an hour, adds one more entry to a corridor that West Michigan drivers navigate by the hundred thousand every single day.
