CINCINNATI — A highway where an overpass collapsed during demolition work left one worker dead and a tractor-trailer driver injured was cleared of concrete and steel on Tuesday and reopened, but police were left wondering what the casualty toll might have been had the accident occurred amid heavy traffic.

The removal of tons of debris from Interstate 75 began Tuesday afternoon and was completed by nighttime, allowing the closed southbound lanes to reopen to traffic. Minor repairs were made, the state Department of Transportation said.

Casualties could have been much higher had the late-night collapse happened at a busy time on the interstate, which carries more than 178,000 vehicles a day through the area 5 miles north of the Ohio River, Cincinnati Police Chief Jeffrey Blackwell said.

Authorities identified the worker who was killed as Brandon William Carl, of Augusta, Kentucky. The Hamilton County coroner’s office will do an autopsy to determine the cause of his death. Fire officials said his body was recovered from rubble with the help of air bags and special equipment early Tuesday morning, about four hours after the accident.

The tractor-trailer driver, Eric J. Meyers, of Howell, Michigan, slammed into the overpass as the debris landed. He was taken to a hospital with what were described as minor injuries.

“In a matter of seconds his fate would have probably been different,” Blackwell said.

A 911 caller, construction company employee Greg Turner, said he saw the overpass fall.