Why oh why do police rush to completely close a freeway because of an accident. Tonight (Wednesday) at about 11:30 p.m., an accident caused police to shut westbound I-696 at Mound Road. It's bad enough when a freeway is limited to one or two lanes, but close it completely? I know it was late at night, but still hundreds of drivers were inconvenienced. And why? Can't we just get these damaged cars to the side of the road and keep at least one lane open?