Environment

Fuel tanker trailer rolls into Richardson Highway ditch, spills

A tanker trailer carrying fuel on the Richardson Highway between Fairbanks and Delta Junction crashed into a ditch, spilling fuel Monday afternoon, Alaska State Troopers said.

The Big State Logistics fuel tank trailer was carrying 5,000 gallons of low-sulfur diesel fuel, according to a Tuesday report on the spill from the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation.

DEC spokeswoman Candice Bressler said Tuesday that there was no immediate word on how much fuel had spilled from the tanker, but DEC staff were on site Monday night and again Tuesday morning to determine the extent of the spill.

"Fuel was recovered from the trailer itself," Bressler wrote in an email. "Standing product was also found adjacent to the road, and that fuel has been recovered."

Troopers said word of the accident, at Mile 306 of the Richardson near the Birch Lake State Recreation Area, first reached troopers at about 1 p.m. Monday.

The driver, 63-year-old Fairbanks resident Edwin Case, "was traveling northbound in a 2012 Freightliner semi, pulling double fuel tanks, when the rear trailer tongue failed," troopers wrote. "The tank detached and subsequently rolled into the southbound ditch."

No injuries to Case or to anyone else were reported, and none of the 9,000 gallons of fuel in the main trailer of the semi was spilled.

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The DEC report said that the low-sulfur diesel fuel still inside the trailer was removed shortly after the crash, with the trailer itself righted and recovered from the ditch by 5:30 p.m. Monday. The ditch was sealed and about 11,000 gallons of mixed water and fuel were removed by vacuum trucks, with none of the fuel reaching Birch Lake.

Representatives from the state Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, as well as a crew from Big State Logistics, also responded to the scene to help conduct cleanup efforts. Flaggers were in place on the highway as recovery work continued Tuesday.

Chris Klint

Chris Klint is a former ADN reporter who covered breaking news.

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