LITTLE ROCK — A tanker truck loaded with gasoline crashed and tumbled off Interstate 40 near Burns Park on Monday afternoon, leaving no spill or flames on the roadway but leading the Arkansas State Police to close the freeway’s westbound lanes for hours.
At about 2:30 p.m., the tanker rolled down off the interstate and into the brush along the right-hand shoulder between the exits for Burns Park and Crystal Hill Road. State police spokesman Bill Sadler said investigators had not yet determined the cause of the crash.
State police troopers and North Little Rock police and firefighters closed the interstate’s westbound lanes to traffic shortly afterward, diverting traffic through Burns Park.
But just after 4:30 p.m., with traffic already backed up from the Burns Park exit past the interchange with Interstate 30, Sadler said I-40’s westbound lanes would remain closed until at least 9:30 p.m. with all traffic diverted to Arkansas 365.
“Just as a precaution,” he said.
At 10:30 p.m., the interstate remained closed as workers offloaded fuel from the wrecked tanker onto a different truck. Crews then worked to haul away the tanker itself.
A team from the Salvation Army provided water and snacks to emergency responders during the cleanup.
North Little Rock Fire Department Lt. Mark Shoemaker said the westbound lanes were expected to remain closed until about midnight.
Sadler said the road closure was necessary because the tanker was on its side in the greenery so close to the freeway and gasoline was on board. It was better to be safe than to risk any further accident, he said.
From the eastbound lanes,which remained clear and open, a little debris could be seen scattered on the closed lanes Monday afternoon. Glass and small ribbons of mangled metal littered the highway - but no gasoline or liquid of any kind. There was no smoke.
The tanker itself sat inert on its side. Firefighters, troopers and police hovered nearby, talking in small groups, making brief inspections and then talking some more. Behind them, traffic snaked back maybe a quarter of a mile, then the lanes were empty until the Burns Park exit. There, vehicles were stopped completely as drivers waited their turn to move, inch by inch, into the park.
Arkansas, Pages 7 on 07/20/2010