Jul 22, 2009 4:39 pm US/Central
Bishop Ford Reopens After Tanker Spill
Expressway Was Shut Down At 130th Street
DOLTON, Ill. (CBS) ―
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A chemical tanker spilled a corrosive substance onto the pavement on the outbound Bishop Ford Freeway early Wednesday, forcing authorities to shut the expressway down.
CBS
The outbound Bishop Ford Freeway has reopened after it was shut down for several hours after a chemical tanker truck ruptured and spilled acid onto the pavement early Wednesday morning.
The two left lanes were reopened for traffic at about 3 p.m., while the far right lane southbound at 142nd Street and the ramp to Dolton Avenue westbound still remained closed for cleanup, according to a traffic alert from the Illinois State Police.
Just before 3 p.m., the crippled tanker truck, buckled in the middle, was towed away from the spot where it broke down. CBS 2's Mike Parker reports the traffic got moving just in time to avoid a major rush hour slowdown.
The Venezia Transport Service tanker truck ruptured near 130th Street in the 6 a.m. hour. The tanker was carrying 45,000 pounds of coal tar, a mild corrosive, Illinois State Police said.
The truck was leaking about five pounds of coal tar per minute, according to Illinois State Police Lt. Luis Gutierrez. By noon technicians begn pumping the remaining liquid into an empty tanker that had been brought to the scene. That process took less than three hours.
The viscous substance flooded the roadway. Originally, it appeared to be eating into the pavement, but state police later said this was not the case. Coal tar is used to seal railroad ties and black top roads.
Fire crews called a hazardous materials response which was later upgraded to a Level 2, and the Illinois Department of Transportation shut down the entire outbound expressway at 6:48 a.m.
Gutierrez told CBS 2's Don Schwenneker that the corrosive is more hazardous for humans to touch than to inhale. But IDOT crews took no chances, due to the threat that the tanker body could fail completely and the corrosive material could gush across the pavement.
He said the driver did exactly what he was supposed to do.
"It was really great of him to be able to notice that there was a buckle in the tanker, immediately pull over and investigate and determine there was a leak, and contact us immediately."
No one was evacuated, and no one was injured.
Venezia Transport, based out of Potstown, Penn., ships construction materials across the country. The company says it "maintains stringent controls on safety, equipment and maintenance."
The state will investigate the spill.
"Our commercial vehicle officers will be looking into service records and maintenance records and will also try to determine if there were previous problems with the tanker," Guttierez said.
The inbound Bishop Ford remained open Wednesday morning, but gapers blocks mounted all morning.
State Police encouraged motorists to use alternate routes, such as the Chicago Skyway or Torrence Avenue to the east, and Interstate 57 or Halsted Street to the west until all of the lanes are open.
CBS 2's Don Schwenneker, Mike Parker and Kris Habermehl, and the STNG Wire, contributed to this report.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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