It happened shortly after 5pm when a tanker capsized and spilled an unknown amount of fuel on the eastern lanes of the motorway near the 337th mile.
A view from helicopter 6 showed a fuel tanker on the side lying in a bed of foam while crews worked to eliminate the leak.
As a result of the accident, the east and west lanes were completely stopped.
Alexis, her husband Ray and their 13-year-old son were among those stuck in a massive stalemate. The family went to a basketball game in New Brunswick.
“They make us turn around, so every 10 or 15 seconds we see a car driving on the other side,” Alexis said.
Officials urged motorists who need help or fuel to call, * 11 (star 11) from their mobile phone and inform the dispatcher of your location of the kilometer and the description of the vehicle.
Crews had to remove barriers from the highway to get drivers off the highway.
UPDATE for motorists who were in the queue for an accident on I-276 East #PaTurnpike.
🔹The turn is 333.6 miles, so vehicles can leave at the gate.
🔹The barrier removed 336 miles of vehicles that are turning.
🔹Vehicles for mile 336 will turn around as soon as the barrier turns traffic pic.twitter.com/aFMVgRsjFl– Tournament Warnings (@PATurnpikeAlert) February 17, 2022
At about 23.00 the highway was still stopped and the crews were still working on the withdrawal of the tanker.
Authorities report Action News, the truck driver was hospitalized as a precaution.
The cause of the disaster is being clarified.
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