- Tuesday August 11th, 2015 :: 12:22 p.m. EDT
NB I-65 Lanes Closed Until Evening For Crash Clean Up & Paving
NB I-65 Lanes Closed Until Evening
For Crash Clean Up & Paving
FRANKLIN, Ind.—A fiery crash on Interstate 65 south of Whiteland Road will continue to require full closure of northbound lanes in Johnson County while workers clear the wreckage site and paving crews replace up to 400 feet of damaged pavement. Indiana Department of Transportation officials anticipate clean-up and paving operations will continue through the afternoon into early evening hours.
According to an INDOT spokesperson, “if all goes well, we hope to have northbound lanes open by 6 o’clock this evening.”
Meanwhile, northbound I-65 traffic is being diverted onto U.S. 31 at the Taylorsville exit north of Columbus while traffic queues south of the crash site are being routed off the stalled roadway at the State Road 44 exit at Franklin. Northbound I-65 is closed between mile markers 76.0 and 95.0.
According to Indiana State Police reports, a semi tractor-trailer crashed into the south end of a concrete barrier wall located in the shoulder area of I-65’s northbound left lane near mile marker 93 at 6:20 a.m. today. The semi continued another 400 feet north of the crash site before coming to a stop. When ISP officers arrived on scene the truck was fully engulfed in flames. The driver of the 2005 Freightliner transporting lithium batteries was out of the cab and uninjured.
A HAZMAT response team from the Greenwood Fire Department was called in to deal with the hazardous materials. They are currently being offloaded and transported offsite.
The truck’s ruptured tank spilled diesel fuel along hundreds of feet of I-65 pavement. The actual burn site is approximately 100 feet across both lanes.
Official believe it will take three to four hours to clean up the crash site and another three to four hours to mill away three inches of damaged pavement and put down new asphalt.
Milestone, INDOT’s contractor for an $84 million added travel lanes project on I-65 between Main Street/Greenwood and S.R. 44/Franklin, will make the pavement repairs.
Current construction is concentrated within the 3-mile mid-section—between Worthsville Road and Hurricane Creek—of this 11-mile project that includes pavement reconstruction and bridge rehabilitation.
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INDOT MEDIA CONTACT: Harry Maginity at (317) 468-3190 or [email protected]
ISP MEDIA CONTACT: Sgt. Richard Myers at (800) 582-8440 or [email protected]
Address/Location
Indiana State Police-Indianapolis District 52-Indianapolis, IN
8620 East 21st Street
Indianapolis, IN 46219
Contact
Emergency: 9-1-1
Non-emergencies: 317-899-8577