All lanes of Highway 401 have now reopened near Cambridge following a large fuel spill early this morning.
Ontario Provincial Police say a tanker truck carrying 50,000 litres of jet fuel collided with a vehicle in the eastbound lanes of the highway east of Cambridge at around 1:45 a.m.
The overturned truck spilled fuel onto both the eastbound and westbound lanes of the highway, prompting police to close the 401 between Guelph Line and Townline Road.
The driver of the tanker truck was taken to hospital with minor injuries and the driver of the passenger vehicle was uninjured.
Speaking to CP24 on Sunday, Const. Robert Visconti said police were initially concerned with the amount of “highly flammable” fuel that had spilled onto the roadway.
Crews were on scene for several hours on Sunday working to clean up the spill.
"We currently have clean-up crews on scene... getting a company out there that can actually clean up jet fuel was a bit of an issue." Visconti said.
“The cleanup is going pretty well. There are no more concerns of it catching fire or causing any more environment damage. The ministry of the Environment was notified … and they are taking their appropriate action as well.
Some westbound lanes of the highway reopened at around noon but the eastbound lanes remained closed for most of the day.
At around 11:30 p.m. Ontario Provincial Police said the highway had completely reopened.
The cause of the crash is still under investigation.
