A utility line that fell across West Main Street at Hotze Road snarling traffic for more than three hours Tuesday afternoon turned out to be a Spectrum Cable line.
Salem Police Chief Kyle Ambuehl says a low-hanging line along West Main Street was struck by a semi entering Schmidt Ford causing another line crossing Main at Hotze Road to partially fall into the roadway.
Without knowing what type of line was involved, Salem Police and Emergency Services personnel began detouring traffic around the downed line. The situation became worse when another truck clipped a line causing both power and cable lines near the Main and Hotze Road to become unstable.
Ameren and Spectrum worked for several hours getting the lines back up and for traffic to once again flow normally around 3:30 Tuesday afternoon.
