The cleanup process will continue in the area of Wade Ave and East Railroad Street in Dickson Wednesday after a fuel-carrying tanker truck overturned at the intersection's corner Tuesday afternoon, spilling gasoline onto the street and into the culvert, said Dickson County Emergency Management Agency Director Rob Fisher.
The first phase of the cleanup – vacuuming up the fuel and covering the area in fire-retardant foam – was finished about 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, Fisher said. At that time, residents in the area, who had been evacuated, were allowed to return home.
A shelter area for those residents was set up at Walnut Street Church of Christ in Dickson just down the street from the scene.
HEPACO and B&P, both emergency response, environmental cleanup companies, were contracted by the trucking company for the cleanup. Both companies are expected to have equipment, vehicles and crews on the scene today, forcing closure of the Wade Ave and East Railroad streets again, Fisher said.
A vacuum tanker truck remains on site for continued gas cleanup.
Fisher said crews will actually dig into the dirt and also remove the culvert for environmental remediation purposes. The foam that was used is expected to be gone today, Fisher said.
The truck driver, Fisher said, was trying to deliver fuel to Huck's gas station at the corner of Highway 46 and College Street in Dickson when he "either took a wrong turn or the GPS was wrong." The driver only sustained a cut finger.
"We are extremely fortunate no one got hurt," Fisher said.
"That was a very costly wrong turn," Fisher added.