CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. - Interstate 95 fully reopened early Friday morning, nearly 24 hours after a tanker truck crash closed all southbound lanes in Chester. All lanes reopened about 2:20 a.m., the Virginia Department of Transportation advised.
The lanes were closed 20 hours for clean-up after the tanker spilled fuel on the interstate. With traffic at a standstill, some drivers abandoned their cars, others drove the "wrong way" to exit the interstate.
"The pavement in the left and center southbound lanes sustained significant damage from the fuel spill,” VDOT district maintenance engineer Rob Bowman said.
Police said that at 6:07 a.m. Thursday a Jeep traveling southbound struck a southbound tanker truck. The tanker ran off the left side of the interstate, struck the jersey wall and overturned onto its side.
The impact of the crash caused the tank to rupture and Chesterfield Fire and EMS Hazmat crews responded to help manage the spill. The tanker was loaded with gasoline.
The driver and two passengers in the Jeep were transported to Chippenham Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries, police said. The driver of the tanker truck was transported to VCU Medical Center for treatment of serious, but non-life threatening injuries.
VDOT and Virginia State Police shutdown all southbound lanes of Interstate 95 in the area until about 6 p.m. when one southbound lane reopened.
