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Pocono News Section
Truck Spills Cotton Seed over Highway
Truck Spills Cotton Seed over Highway - Friday, March 7, 2008 at 4:28PM EST
Reported by: David DeCosmo
Friday, Mar 7, 2008 @04:28pm EST
MUNCY, LYCOMING COUNTY- Traffic delays on a section of a major area interstate that was closed for several hours. It happened Friday morning along I-180 near the Muncy Main Street exit.
Work crews spent hours cleaning a stretch of Interstate 180 near the Muncy/Main Street exit after a tractor trailer crashed around midnight. The trailer ripped open, spilling its load all over the west bound lanes.
Ted Baker of Minuteman Towing explained, "The tractor trailer truck was carrying a load of cotton seed. The driver hit the guardrail, then the bridge abutment, and ripping the trailer open spilling the contents onto the roadway. Then the tractor trailer truck rolled over and lay in the medium strip. We were dispatched by the Montoursville Pennsylvania State Police. We responded with heavy duty wreckers to recover the unit and up right it.”
The company brought in additional equipment to clean up tons of cotton seed that covered the highway. Baker said the material is non hazardous and posed no environmental threat.
"Basically it’s just manual labor. Scoop it up with loaders, shovels, and brooms and put it on a dump truck. Basically you're just trying to cosmetically clean up the area," declared Baker.
Westbound traffic was detoured 5 miles around the accident scene and PennDOT officials responded to check out the damage.
"The guide rails we have some extensive damage to that. The bridge I believe is OK but the bridge unit's going to be here during the daylight hours to do an inspection on it" stated Terry Robbins who was on the scene for PennDOT.
Pennsylvania State Police said both lanes were re-opened along the interstate at 6:30 a.m. | | |
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