Thousands of motorists in Honolulu were stranded in their vehicles for 14-hours after a military vehicle clipped a pedestrian bridge near a major freeway overpass, forcing officials to close the road, according to a Local 6 News report.

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Officials said the traffic jam caused by the incident in the westbound lanes of the H-1 Freeway in Honolulu was the worst in Hawaii's history.

Many commuters slept in their cars overnight or just abandoned them on the freeway.

Cars were videotaped on the side of the road after overheating or running out of gas.

State engineers worked through the night to get the freeway back open. To take down the unstable bridge, crews had to chip away tons of concrete and metal.

Gov. Linda Lingle apologized for the inconvenience, but said the main focus was on public safety.

"It was a massive disruption in people's lives yesterday afternoon and long into the evening and we regret that, but the decision was made on safety and we think it was a correct decision," Lingle said.

The state is now looking into how it could have better dealt with the emergency, according to the report.

The Army excavator apparently hit more than just the freeway overpass. The big machine damaged four freeway signs before the bridge crash.

The Army issued an official apology to the people of Oahu for causing the traffic mess.

The H-1 is the main freeway on Oahu and the only way home for thousands of commuters.

Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.