11-foot alligator blocks traffic on Florida highway

April 27 (UPI) -- A Florida highway was temporarily closed Wednesday morning due to an unusual traffic hazard -- an 11-foot alligator.

The Florida Highway Patrol, Seminole County Sheriff's Office and Oviedo Police Department responded Wednesday morning when an alligator wandered into traffic on State Road 417, near the north end of the bridge over Lake Jesup in the Oviedo area.

Police surrounded the alligator with their vehicles and were able to open a lane of traffic for drivers to pass before the gator moved to the shoulder of the road, allowing the rest of the road to reopen.

A Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission trapper was called to the scene to relocate the gator away from the highway.