HOPKINTON, R.I. (AP) – Transportation officials have vowed to figure out how a group of cows wander onto Interstate 95, most recently on Tuesday morning when several Holsteins stopped rush hour traffic.
The cows from Brook-Knoll Farm walked onto the highway near Exit 2 about 8 a.m. State Police stopped traffic while two troopers used air horns to shoo away the bovines, which can weigh about 1,500 pounds each.
“If a vehicle hits them, it could cause a serious, serious accident,” Sgt. Nicholas Tella said.
Brook-Knoll Farm co-owner Dorothy Reynolds said the bovine backups normally happen when the farm’s cows walk through a 100-foot gap in a fence near the highway.
Reynolds said the state Department of Transportation is responsible for mending the barrier since it took the land by eminent domain to build the highway. Although state workers installed a portion of the fence last fall, Reynolds said they left 100 feet unfinished.
“Last year, they were out every day,” she said.
DOT spokeswoman Heidi Cote said agency records indicate workers did install a fence in the area in October. But she said the department planned to look into Reynolds’ complaint.
“We don’t want anything to hurt motorists or the animals,” she said. “We will certainly investigate.”
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