CENTENNIAL, Colo. — Interstate 25 was closed in both directions between Dry Creek Road and County Line Road after wind damaged the large IKEA sign Thursday night.

The closure caused major traffic problems in south metro Denver.

South Metro Fire Department received a call from one of the store’s employees who noticed the panels were shaking in wind gusts reaching 45 mph.

The fire department’s technical rescue team found two 4 foot-by-8 foot panels that were unsecure, and spent about 2 1/2 hours fixing the problem.

“They drilled holes through the backside of the panel to the front side, and then secured it in multiple places using wire to make sure it wouldn’t come loose,” said Steve Standridge of South Metro Fire Rescue.

“Of course, we’ll have our teams go through it in the next couple of days just to make sure those panels are secure, but the structure of the sign is absolutely fine,” IKEA spokeswoman Megan Thompson said.

The light rail station in the area was also closed, stranding passengers who were moved onto buses to finish their trips.

The highway reopened about 8:15 p.m. after firefighters stabilized the panels in the sign.