All 401 lanes reopened after tanker truck crash spills 50,000 litres of jet fuel
By Liz MonteiroWaterloo Region Record
CAMBRIDGE, ONT.—All lanes on Hwy 401 have now been re-opened after a tractor trailer rolled over and spilled jet fuel early Sunday.
Lanes reopened throughout the day as cleanup progressed from around noon to shortly before midnight.
The spill occurred at about 1:30 a.m. when a tractor trailer and a vehicle collided on the eastbound lanes of the 401 east of Highway 6 North, OPP Const. Robert Visconti said. The truck rolled onto its driver's side and spilled the fuel on both eastbound and westbound lanes of the highway.
Visconti said police closed off the area and had cleanup crews on site because the fuel is highly flammable.
"Our initial concern was that any spark could set it off," he said Sunday morning.
About 50,000 litres of fuel spilled.
"It was a logistics nightmare trying to get a company that will actually come out to clean up jet fuel," Visconti said.
But by late morning, crews were cleaning up the spill, he said. "We initially had a much bigger closure due to safety reasons because the jet fuel is so flammable, but that has been scaled back as the cleanup progresses."
The truck driver was taken to hospital and treated for minor injuries, Visconti said. No one was hurt in the other vehicle.
Officials are still investigating the cause of the crash.
With files from Jack Hauen, Rhianna Jackson-Kelso and the Canadian Press