A tanker truck carrying a hazardous material overturned in Belmont County early Monday morning, closing an interstate onramp and snarling traffic.


The crash happened around 1:45 a.m. on the onramp to Interstate 470 near state Route 7. Officials with the Ohio State Highway Patrol said diesel fuel from the truck spilled on the roadway after the crash, but no other material spilled. The fuel was contained, officials said.


The truck, which is owned by Quality Carriers out of Tampa, Fla., was hauling 4,000 gallons of sodium hydroxide, also known as caustic soda, which a highly corrosive chemical used for various industrial products like textiles, soaps, bleach and cellophane. The truck was traveling from a PPG plant in Natrium, W.Va., on its way to Kentucky when it crashed.


By 4:30 p.m., Ohio EPA officials said all of the sodium hydroxide was removed from the truck and the vehicle was turned upright. At that time, officials said they expected the truck to be removed within an hour and the roadway reopened.


Ohio State Highway Patrol Sgt. Chris Chesar said the truck was traveling south from state Route 7 to I-470 when it flipped on its side going around a bend on the westbound merge. Officials with the OSHP from the said the driver was not injured and was cited.


The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency confirmed that no sodium hydroxide spilled. In addition to the EPA, crews from the Ohio State Highway Patrol, Ohio Department of Transportation, Quality Carriers, and SUNPRO Environmental Service were called to help with what officials called a lengthy and taxing cleanup process.


The westbound onramp to I-470, which is Exit 6, was closed and ODOT detoured drivers onto I-470 eastbound into Wheeling where drivers turned right back around and headed west on I-470 via Route 2. Traffic on the eastbound ramp was not affected.


Traffic for much of the day flowed smoothly, but Ty Justice, ODOT transportation manager, said he thought that would change for the evening commute because the route where the truck crashed is used frequently.


"This morning when it happened, there wasn't very much traffic. Now this afternoon, when people start to go home this evening, we may have some issues with traffic," Justice said. "This is a pretty heavily trafficked area. People coming over from West Virginia, people coming north and southbound from Route 7. People coming from the Columbus area. A lot of the trucks travel this way because of the tunnels, so yes, this area does have a lot of traffic on it."


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