Anchorage Daily News

Hazardous materials teams from the Matanuska-Susitna Borough and the military responded Monday to the crash of a truck tanker carrying 9,000 gallons of liquefied methane on the Parks Highway.

The semi pulling the tanker trailer rolled just before 9 a.m. at Mile 179 and emergency authorities closed the highway, the main road link between Anchorage and Fairbanks. Authorities said the highway could remain closed for much of Monday night.

The tank itself was put on its side. The cause of the crash was not known.

Methane is highly explosive and transported under pressure in refrigerated tanks.

A crew from the owners of the methane, Fairbanks Natural Gas, a utility in Fairbanks, removed rock that that jammed a vent acting as a safety valve on the trailer.

"Because it's venting properly it'll maintain a temperature that will reduce the risk of explosion," said Ken Barkley, an acting borough assistant fire chief and the on-scene official in charge.

Responders were deciding the best way to empty the tanker of methane before attempting to lift it back onto its wheels.

Patty Sullivan, spokeswoman for the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, said the incident occurred just north of Hurricane Gulch Bridge, a 550-foot span that rises 260 feet above Hurricane Creek. A parking lot at the remote bridge is a frequent stop for road travelers with cameras.

The bridge is about 80 miles north of Talkeetna and about 58 miles south of the entrance to Denali National Park and Preserve.

The truck is owned by TG Services of Wasilla.

The driver, Robert Adkins, 63, was able to escape from the cab. He was transported to Mat-Su Regional Medical Center with what Sullivan said were minor injuries.

Borough emergency services director Dennis Brodigan said the first goal of emergency responders was to get the driver out and isolate the truck.

Authorities closed the highway at Mile 171.5 on the southern end and Mile 184.5 on the northern end.

The Alaska Railroad, whose tracks are within a mile of the highway, halted north- and southbound trains for part of the day.

Responders from the natural gas company noticed that pressurized methane was not venting properly and discovered the rock jamming the vent.

"They regained the use of one vent and manually opened a second vent to drastically reduce the threat of explosion," Sullivan said.

Ken Farina, the borough's incident commander, said the venting of 1,000 gallons of methane took two hours. He described the venting as producing a white cloud on the road.

"It's coming out of the tank at 260 degrees below zero, it's very cold so it lays on the ground," he said. "When it warms up, it rises and disperses."

Not all of the gas will be vented, he said.

The 103rd Civil Support Team, a hazardous materials team from Elmendorf Air Force Base and Fort Richardson Army Post, happened to be driving in a caravan to a hazardous materials drill at Fort Greely in Delta Junction and came upon the scene.

Fairbanks Natural Gas planned to eventually lift the tanker with two cranes, Sullivan said.

The semi was leaking diesel but there was no indication that the methane tank was damaged or punctured.

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