UPDATE: Route 1 Still Closed After Truck Fire, Fuel Spill on Conowingo Dam
The incident occurred around 11 p.m. Wednesday.
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UPDATED (Thursday, 8:30 a.m.)—U.S. Route 1 remains closed at the Susquehanna River after a tractor trailer hauling fuel caught on fire on the Cecil County side of the Conowingo Dam late Wednesday.
Maryland State Police at the North East barracks said traffic remained closed as of 8:30 a.m. Thursday.
The accident, first reported by Patch, took place around 11 p.m. Wednesday.
According to Harford County Fire and EMS spokesman Rich Gardiner, a medevac helicopter was en route to the area shortly before 11:30 p.m. to transport one patient. Emergency radio communications indicated that as much as 3,000 gallons of fuel was spilled, but Gardiner said he did not know how much fuel the truck was carrying.
WBAL reported that approximately 7,500 gallons of fuel spilled onto Route 1.
Traffic on Route 1 was shut down following the accident. Alternate routes for travelers looking to cross the Susquehanna River include Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 40 via the Hatem Bridge.
Darlington Volunteer Fire Company, Lancaster (PA) County Fire and the Harford County Hazmat team assisted county fire personnel with the incident.
Updates to follow.
Janice
6:09 am on Thursday, October 27, 2011
Is the Conowingo Dam opened again?
michelle
10:22 am on Thursday, October 27, 2011
I saw on channel 11 that it would closed all day
Sean Welsh
6:25 am on Thursday, October 27, 2011
WBAL-TV is reporting the dam is still closed as of 6:24 a.m. We will keep you updated. -SW
Rob
7:06 am on Thursday, October 27, 2011
Sounds like more of a fire than an explosion
J
7:47 am on Thursday, October 27, 2011
The Conowingo dam needs to be off limits for trucks. There are too many accidents. The road is too narrow, both entrances are very steep and curved. A month or two ago another truck overturned on the opposite side. Trucks are using it to avoid paying the rise in tolls on the 95 and 40 bridge. The truck traffic has multiplied in the past year or more. Especially dump trucks. People are going to be getting killed. Besides the risk factors, the dam is being closed on a regular basis. This is Rt 1, there should be a better bridge, not this privately owned 100 year old dam.
Carol
8:07 am on Thursday, October 27, 2011
Bridge was due to be open by 8 Am. not sure it is has but thats what the news said
Janice
8:13 am on Thursday, October 27, 2011
Channel 13 has reported so many accidents that they quit reporting on the dam. Patch has not said if it is open or not. In the mean time, my husband had to go to work so he was going the long way around.
Alan Burdette Jr.
8:38 am on Thursday, October 27, 2011
Well if you want less truck traffic on the dam remember that when you continue to re elect the same people that keep raising taxes and tolls. Further more, most of the truck accidents that accure nation wide are atributed to drivers of cars.
Jason Chilly Edwards
8:40 am on Thursday, October 27, 2011
The damn is and will always continue to be a major trucking route as long as you like living in a house and not a card board box. It takes stone sand and gravel to build homes and the majority of that material crosses the dam into Harford County from quarries in Cecil County.
Wings
3:27 pm on Thursday, October 27, 2011
Anyone know if it reopened yet?
Debbie Pyle Smith
6:59 pm on Thursday, October 27, 2011
Typical, no updates in more than 10 hours
Sean Welsh
7:21 pm on Thursday, October 27, 2011
I'm sorry you missed our update from an hour or so before the evening rush: http://patch.com/A-nprr
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Thanks for reading.
Sean Welsh
7:20 pm on Thursday, October 27, 2011
This was updated shortly before 4 p.m. today: http://patch.com/A-nprr