TAYLORSVILLE, Utah, June 19, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — Hazmat crews spent hours Wednesday cleaning up a potentially toxic chemical leak after a truck fire shut down traffic on southbound I-215.
The fire near 5300 South at 5:35 p.m. was quickly controlled but leaking fluids from the large boxcar truck kept responders occupied, Utah Highway Patrol Lt. Cameron Roden said.
By 7 p.m. traffic from the end of the daily commute was backed up all the way to 3500 South.
The driver of the truck was uninjured, Roden said, and cause of the fire was not yet known.
The roadway was splashed with leaking hydraulic fluid and oil, while the truck’s cargo had not appeared to leak, according to Roden.
The truck took hours to tow as Unified Fire Department hazmat specialists continued clean up efforts, he said.
The southbound lanes of 1-215 were immediately closed at 4700 S., Roden said. The hundreds of vehicles sandwiched between the fire scene and the 4700 S exit were slowly shepherded back, northbound in the southbound lanes, to the 4700 S. exit by troopers and UDOT Incident Management Trucks.
UDOT cameras showed southbound traffic was flowing once again as of 9 p.m.
