SigAlert: Overturned Gas Tanker Shuts Down 5 Freeway

LOS ANGELES, CA — An overturned gasoline tanker truck triggered a SigAlert on the Golden State (5) Freeway in the Atwater Village that lasted most of the day and backed up traffic for miles.

The crash happened just after 7 a.m. Wednesday near Glendale Boulevard, according to the California Highway Patrol. No one was injured, but the fuel spilled onto the roadway forcing the closure of northbound lanes of the freeway. All northbound lanes of the Golden State Freeway remained closed until about 5:30 p.m., when three lanes were reopened, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The two right lanes were expected to be reopened hours later, an officer said.

About 10 gallons of fuel spilled onto the roadway, and a company was summoned to the scene to offload the rest of the diesel before the tanker truck could be removed from the scene, a process that could take several hours, authorities said.

A hazardous-materials team was sent to oversee the operation and assess whether any fuel leaked into storm drains.

The mess backed up rush hour traffic for miles. Authorities shut down the Fletcher onramp to the northbound 5 Freeway. Northbound lanes were shutdown along with the southbound Glendale (2) Freeway transition to the northbound 5.

City News Service contributed to this report.