Tractor trailer rollover causes spill, 401 closure

The OPP says two lanes of the 401 eastboud between County Road 6 and Gardiners Rd will be open for the weekend, following a highway collision and fuel spill Thursday morning.

On Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020 shortly before 5:00 a.m. officers from Frontenac Detachment of the OPP as well as Kingston Fire and Frontenac Paramedics responded to a collision involving a tractor trailer at kilometer marker 610 on Highway 401 eastbound.

The police investigation revealed that the tractor trailer struck the guard rail and continued into the south ditch. The vehicle’s fuel tanks were damaged and the contents of the trailer, liquid tar, have leaked into a wetland area. 

The highway was closed most of Thursday following the collision. Traffic was re-routed to an emergency detour route from County Road 6 at Odessa to Gardiners Road in Kingston during that time. The 401 reopened Thursday evening, reduced to one lane through the crash scene.

OPP report that the clean-up will continue next week during the overnight hours, with lane restrictions at that time. The Ministry of the Environment is managing the clean-up and the Ministry of Transportation is assisting with the road closure. The full extent of the environmental damage as a result of the spills is not yet known.

The driver of the tractor trailer was taken to hospital with minor injuries and charges are pending.