Overturned propane tanker on Turnpike creating big delays Thursday
WOODBRIDGE — The outer lanes of the northbound New Jersey Turnpike will remain closed for the Thursday morning commute, for the continued cleanup of a tanker carrying 50,000 pounds of propane that overturned on Wednesday night.
Lengthy delays developed during the start of the morning commute as drivers slowed down to look at the tanker, which remained overturned onto the guardrail between the outer and inner lanes, north of the Garden State Parkway.
The outer lanes were reopened around 8:30 a.m.
The fuel on board the tanker needed to be offloaded, but because the valves were damaged, crews are doing a controlled burnoff of the fuel, according to Turnpike Authority spokesman Tom Feeney. Woodbridge's Hazardous Materials team was also on scene.
Feeney said an SUV was also involved in the crash, but said the drivers of both the truck and the vehicle were not injured.
The tanker belongs to Paraco Gas of South Plainfield, according to Feeney.
New Jersey Fast Traffic's Bob Williams said it will take at least an hour to travel between exits 10 and 12, which he said is the largest convergence of major highways in the state with the Parkway, Route 440, and Route 287, plus Route 9.
The northbound Parkway was delayed as motorists tried to exit for the northbound Turnpike. Exiting delays to Route 440 also developed because of a crash on the Outerbridge Crossing that closed the span in both directions early in the commute.
A picture from the Lakewood Scoop and video shared with CBS New York from the crash scene show the tanker burst into flames after it overturned around 8:30 p.m., and closed the inner and outer lanes on Wednesday night.
State Police did not immediately return a message early Thursday morning.
Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ.
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