Wrenches & Wreckers Clears Giant Windmill Blade

By George L. Nitti

Traffic came to a standstill early Monday, June 30 on I-70 in Washington County, Maryland, after a 280-foot windmill turbine blade broke loose from a trailer, crossed the median, and blocked eastbound lanes. The incident happened just after 5 a.m. near I-81. A Maryland highway worker assisting at the scene sustained non-life-threatening injuries, according to state police.

At the heart of the recovery was Eddie Smith of Wrenches and Wreckers, who arrived with his 2022 Kenworth W900B with 1150 Century rotator.

“The trailer has articulating axles controlled by a remote—kind of like a fire truck tiller,” Smith explained. “When it hit the bridge bump, the rear pin came loose. The axles turned and sent the blade through the guardrail.”

Smith said the 16-tire trailer suffered seven flats and a broken air fitting. “I carry battery impacts, so I started singling out tires. Lifted the trailer body with the rotator and swapped out the doubles to get it sitting right.”

Using the rotator, he also removed a section of guardrail. “I pulled probably ten posts out of the ground, then backed it through the median and got the trailer pinned straight again.”

While some suggested lifting the blade over the median, Smith declined. “It’s fragile and I didn’t know its lifting capacity. I wasn’t about to risk it.”

Instead, he focused on fast, smart solutions. “You could’ve done it with jacks and a service truck, but it’d be a lot slower. It was hot—we had to move.”

His team cut off damaged fenders with a Sawzall, patched air leaks, and made all necessary repairs onsite. “It was a $300,000 trailer. Everything came off easy—it was new, not rusty.”

The work didn’t stop there. “We brought the bent steel bar to a shop, had it pressed back straight. It needed replacing, but police weren’t going to let that load sit roadside.”

Smith said the young drivers—just in their mid-20s—handled the situation well. “Good truck drivers,” he noted.

Founded in 2009, Wrenches and Wreckers is built for mobile recovery. “We don’t do a lot of in-shop repairs anymore. Used to have 14 bays, always slammed. But I realized mobile was the way.”

“We don’t do everything,” Smith added, “but what we do, we do right.”