U.S. Highway 101 is completely blocked after a fully loaded semi carrying 77,000 pounds of top soil flipped onto its side, dropping its load across both the north and the south lanes.
“We’re hoping it isn’t hazmatted,” said a spokesperson for the California Highway Patrol who had an officer at the scene.
Because it is top soil and probably not going to be considered a hazardous waste, clean up might go quicker. But if the decision is made that this is a HazMat situation, the road could be closed awhile, the spokesperson said.
The driver received minor injuries.
UPDATE 5:04 p.m.:
Caltrans pushed the semi out of the roadway. According to Caltrans spokesperson Myles Cochrane, they have one-way traffic control in effect.
“Sometimes when this happens they’ll eventually have to stop traffic in both directions for a moment to upright the rig,” he explained. But currently, traffic is moving through the area.
This article appears in In the Lab.
