As if rush hour wasn't bad enough already ...

Just in time for the evening rush hour, the outbound lanes of the Katy Freeway were closed for six hours Thursday afternoon after an 18-wheeler burst into flames. The accident happened at about 2 p.m. when the driver of an 18-wheeler moving truck scraped a concrete barrier as he was trying to exit the Katy HOV lane between Gessner and Bunker Hill; the scrape damaged a diesel fuel tank, which caught fire.

The Chronicle reports that the driver and a passenger were able to get out of the truck before the fire spread, fueled by densely packed furniture and boxes. All the westbound lanes of the Katy were closed; by 5 p.m., one had re-opened, but traffic was reportedly backed up for miles on the freeway and parallel surface streets.

Eventually, special machinery was brought in to remove the wreckage, and the freeway reopened at about 8 p.m. The truck and its cargo, needless to say, were destroyed.