FREMONT, IN (WTVB) – A leak of nitric acid from a semi at the Pilot Truck Stop just south of the Michigan-Indiana border forced a nearly six mile shutdown of I-69 in southern Branch County and northern Steuben County on Tuesday morning.
The interstate was closed between the Kinderhook exit (Copeland Road, Mile Marker 3) in Michigan and Exit 354 in Steuben County, Indiana which is the exit to Pokagon State Park until early afternoon.
Steuben County Emergency Management Director Randy Brown told WANE-TV in Fort Wayne that a broken valve on the tanker of the semi spilled 6,000 gallons of acid.
The truck stop was evacuated after the leak was reported just after 7:00 a.m.. Those who work and live nearby were told to shelter in place.
Brown added the chemical ran away from the gas pumps and into a nearby ditch.
The Indiana Department of Environmental Management was called in to help with the clean up efforts. No injuries were reported.
The shutdown of the interstate and other nearby roads created a traffic nightmare. Roads that were open were clogged with traffic.
Complicating matters even further was the closing of a portion of nearby South Angola Road because a bridge over the Coldwater River is being replaced.
The Branch County Road Commission was called in to put up signs where roads had to be shut down.
Sheriff’s deputies from Branch and Steuben Counties along with the State Police from Michigan and Indiana directed traffic.
Fire departments from Fremont, Angola and Lakeland responded along with hazardous material teams from northeast Indiana.
