It happened again
Tanker spill city: Truck accident shuts down Highway 59 North, snarls trafficthroughout region
Traffic is backed up for about a mile on 610.
Highway traffic.
The scene from the March 12 spill that caused almost a half day plus of trafficnightmares.
Update at 9:23 p.m.: It took longer than expected to clean up the spill and restore traffic, but all lanes are open.
Update at 6:18 p.m.: One lane is now open on 59 North, but traffic remains a mess throughout the Loop and the Texas Department of Transportation does not expect to reopen 59 North fully until after 8 p.m.
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Tanker truck spills — and the resulting huge traffic backups — are fast becoming a way of life in Houston.
For the second time in less than nine months, a tanker truck spill is causing a huge traffic backup and disrupting the evening rush hour. A tanker truck dumped diesel fuel across several lanes of traffic shortly after 3 p.m. this afternoon, causing motorists going north on Highway 59 to be diverted to the Buffalo Speedway/Edloe exit, according to KTRK Ch. 13.
Besides closing down part of 59 North, the police have also shut down the 610 West Loop southbound ramp to 59 North as well as the West Loop northbound ramp to 59 North. The scene's created gridlock heading into downtown with backups now stretching at least a mile. This on a night when a number of events are happening downtown, including a visit from the Los Angeles Lakers that's expected to draw one of the Houston Rockets' largest crowds of the season to the 18,300-seat Toyota Center.
Traffic headed into downtown is hardly the only backup point though. Several drivers tell CultureMap that roads throughout the area, including Kirby and Westheimer, are getting huge residual backups as motorists desperately search for a way around the mess. Taillights and headlights are the symbols of the night.
The spill actually occured on 59 North near Weslayan. It is unclear what caused the tanker truck to lose control.
Though not as big as the massive tanker spill on March 12 that snarled traffic for almost an entire Friday night, this one is expected to take several hours to cleanup, according to the Texas Department of Transportation.
Stay tuned to CultureMap for more details.
