Fuel spill closes Routes 1 & 9, blocks access to Goethals Bridge

LINDEN -- Cleanup of a fuel spill has closed a busy truck route and affected access to the Goethals Bridge.

Linden Police spokesman Lt. Christopher Guenther said a tanker truck carrying 1,900 gallons of diesel fuel overturned early Wednesday morning, around 12:15 a.m., on the southbound side of  Routes 1 & 9 just south of Route 278, resulting in a closure of the 1 & 9 northbound lanes at Wood Avenue. Guenther warned drivers would not be able to get to the Goethals Bridge or the Phillips 66 Bayway refinery.

Guenther said the driver lost control of the vehicle and no other vehicles were involved in the crash. A 27-year-old man who was a passenger in the truck was hospitalized for minor injuries at Trinitas Regional Hospital, according to Guenther.

"This is a major corridor for trucks, and that means the detour will dump the traffic onto Wood Avenue and local roads in Linden and Elizabeth, which is not good," New Jersey Fast Traffic's Bob Williams said.

Exit 15 off the New Jersey Turnpike is the best way to the Goethals Bridge, according to Williams, who suggested local traffic can use Route 27 to get around the closure.

Williams also said that those who use New Jersey Transit's Linden station, which is located on Wood Avenue, will want to allow some extra time to make their trains.

Guenther said the Union County Hazardous Material Team as well as the Department of Environmental Protection are involved with the cleanup of the fuel.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com.

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