Overturned truck shuts down I-78 in Springfield

SPRINGFIELD - All lanes on the eastbound side of I-78 continue to be shut down between exits 48 and 49 in Springfield after a truck carrying hazardous materials overturned Monday night, according to authorities.

New Jersey State Police tweeted about the accident at about 8 p.m., saying that the eastbound and westbound lanes of I-78 were completely shut down due to a truck that overturned, carrying a shipping container, with a hazmat team responding.

As of 11:30 p.m., the eastbound local and express lanes of the roadway remained closed between exits 48 and 49 and the westbound express lane was closed between exit 49 and 48, according to NJ 101.5 traffic reporter Andrew Torres. In addition, the ramp from eastbound Rt. 24 remained closed.

State police also said traffic on Rt. 24 was being diverted off the highway at exit 9 and I-78 traffic was being detoured off the highway onto exit 45 so that firefighters could maintain a perimeter around the overturned truck and hazmat spill.

Torres said traffic was being diverted away from the area by state police and suggested using Rt. 22 as an alternate to get around the mess. State police have not yet said how long the cleanup is expected to take or if it will impact the morning commute.

State police did not say exactly what kind of chemical the truck was carrying.

Toniann Antonelli is a social content producer for NJ 101.5. She can be reached at toniann.antonelli@townsquaremedia.com, or on Twitter @ToniRadio1015.