Traffic Nightmare in the Nation's Capital

There was a big threat to a smooth commute for workers in the Washington, DC area on Wednesday. According to the Virginia Department of Transportation, a portion of Interstate-95, one of the largest and busiest highways in the country was closed because of a hazardous materials leak.

Traffic was backed up for miles on one of the busiest stretches of the interstate in this part of the country.

All three lanes of Southbound Interstate-95 were closed in Stafford County, Virginia because a truck on the side of the road was leaking chemicals. Stafford County is located only 20 or so miles from Washington, DC and Interstate-95 is one of the most traveled commuter roads outside of the nation's capital.

A 53-foot tractor-trailer was traveling southbound on I-95 when the driver noticed that something was leaking out of this truck. He then pulled over near mile marker 138 and called the authorities.

Virginia fire officials said that the truck contained several kinds of chemicals and they do not know which kind of chemical was leaked into the environment. They shut down the entire southbound side of the highway as a precaution. Sulfuric acid is the most likely chemical that could be leaking from the truck. A sulfuric acid spill could lead to a fire danger on the side of the highway and needs to be thoroughly cleaned up to alleviate the damage.

The Virginia Department of Transportation has said that they will test the leakage and see what needs to be done for the long term. Hazmat crews determined the road safe to be traveled on after about an hour and cars were allowed to resume driving on I-95.

A large-scale detour was set up to get motorists on their way. The highway was shut down after exit 140, and motorists were being diverted to that exit and onto US Route 1, and then back onto the highway at a later point. Cars that were stuck between the detour and the hazardous truck were turned around at a crossover point.

Fire departments from several counties were on the scene to help speed up the opening process and the Stafford County Mobile Emergency Command Center were on the scene.

This matter caused some serious delays in the nighttime commute last night. Many mototist commutes, which normally take under and hour, were on the road several hours longer than normal. The truck has been cleared off the highway and there should be no more traffic delays as a result.

The chemical that was spilled still needs to be thoroughly cleaned up to protect the environment and protect against fire damage. That could take several days.