UPDATE: Thursday, February 7, 2013

A southwest Kansas highway was reopened after being closed due to a traffic accident involving a tractor-trailer Thursday afternoon.

It happened just before 4 p.m. at Highway 54 and 8th Street, about a mile east of Liberal.

The Kansas Highway Patrol says a passenger car and an SUV were driving eastbound on Highway 54 and then stopped to make a left turn onto 8th Street where they were both rear-ended by a tractor-trailer.

The driver’s of both the passenger car and the SUV were taken to a local hospital with possible injuries. No one else was in either vehicle. The driver of the semi was not hurt.

Both lanes of Highway 54 were reopened around 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

A heavily-traveled highway has been shut down in southwest Kansas after an accident.

According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, U.S. 54 is closed in both directions about a mile east of Liberal in Seward County. The accident happened around 4 p.m this afternoon.

Traffic is being redirected at the U.S. 54/U.S. 83 junction.

No information has been released yet on injuries, or when the highway could re-open.