Thursday, December 11, 2014

CHEMICAL SPILL NEAR MADISON, MISSISSIPPI CLOSES I-55 FOR HOURS



Chemical spill near Madison, Mississippi closes I-55 for hours




12/10/2014 6:00:00 PM


A tractor-trailer rig carrying compressed gases and peroxide rolled off I-55 onto the frontage road near Madison Avenue Wednesday morning and roadways were not expected to be fully open until after midnight.

The accident occurred about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday morning, forcing agents from the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, the Mississippi Highway Patrol, local law enforcement and the Mississippi Department of Transportation into action.

Authorities closed the eastern-most lane of the I-55 northbound, slowing rush hour to a crawl, while workers in yellow hazmat suits diligently cleaned off one case of acid at a time.

Madison Avenue between Grandview and Highland Colony would remain closed "until further notice," Madison police said.

Madison County Emergency Management Director Butch Hammack said Wednesday afternoon that the cleanup had been painstakingly slow because of the sensitive nature of the chemicals the truck was carrying.

"There were a couple of containers of the acid that breached and were leaking," Hammack said. "So these guys have to go in with the full hazmat suit on and clean them off one part at a time."

Hammack said the driver of the truck suffered minor injuries, but was otherwise okay. He added that the accident appears to have occurred when one of the wheels drifted off the shoulder and into soft sediment, which gave way underneath and caused the truck to roll down the hill.




The accident occurred where the new split-diamond interchange is under construction.

There have been other 18-wheeler accidents along the stretch, prompting MDOT to post signage telling truckers to use the left lane.

MDOT spokesman Jarrod Ravencraft said the agency expected that right lane on the north-bound side of I-55 to be closed late into Wednesday evening or Thursday morning.

"We're hoping it doesn't take that long, but that's the estimated time they've told us they need to get it cleaned up," he said. "In the meantime, we are suggesting alternate routes on Highway 51 and Highway 463."