A semitrailer truck carrying thousands of pounds of meat hit a freeway median in Eden Prairie during Monday's morning rush hour and spilled its load on the road.

The mishap around 8:15 a.m. on westbound I-494 near Prairie Center Drive tangled traffic and forced the Minnesota Department of Transportation to close the left lanes on both sides of the freeway. The lanes were closed for about two hours, but reopened around 10:30 a.m.

According to the State Patrol, the westbound truck driver "had a medical episode and blacked out" just before sideswiping the concrete median wall. The force sheared off the side of the truck and its load of sausages spilled over onto the eastbound lanes, said spokeswoman Lt. Tiffani Nielson.

The truck driver was not injured, she said.

Tim Harlow