Tractor-trailer fire caused Lexington’s I-75 to shut down for hours
A section of Interstate 75 was shut down for hours Friday morning after a tractor-trailer crashed and caught fire.
The crash happened around 3:22 a.m. in the southbound lanes of the interstate near the 118 mile-marker and caused the southbound lanes of the interstate to shut down. They didn’t reopen until the afternoon. Lt. Dan Truex with the Lexington Police Department said a truck carrying produce struck a median and caught on fire.
The tractor-trailer was fully on fire when officers arrived, according to Truex. The truck driver was uninjured.
The fire was extinguished Friday morning, according to Maj. Derek Roberts with the Lexington Fire Department. The Perdue Environmental Contracting Company was called to the scene for the cleanup process.
Perdue Environmental, which is located in Nicholasville, has an emergency response team on-call 24 hours a day to respond to environmentally-threatening emergencies. The team is able to transport and dispose of materials from scenes, according to its website.
The saddle tanks of the tractor-trailer ruptured, causing a diesel fuel spill of roughly 200 gallons, according to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. The spill happened in an off-road ditch area.
At 12:15 p.m. the traffic management center said the road was slowly reopening.
“Cones are gradually being removed at this time and traffic flow has started. Use added caution as traffic flow is starting back up,” the traffic management center said on X.
The transportation cabinet’s interactive traffic map showed major congestion on I-75 in the area of the crash. It also showed congestion nearby on I-64 westbound approaching the Paynes Depot Road exit.
This story was originally published January 5, 2024 at 7:13 AM.
