Diesel spill snags Eisenhower Expressway through afternoon rush
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A diesel spill near the Jane Byrne Interchange caused a major traffic backup on the Eisenhower Expressway during the afternoon rush Wednesday.
A truck crashed on the inbound Eisenhower (I-290) near Halsted Street and the University of Illinois Chicago earlier in the afternoon. The wreckage from the crash was removed, but the spilled diesel remained on the expressway hours later.
The ramp from the inbound Eisenhower to the outbound Dan Ryan Expressway closed for the crash and spill at 2:30 p.m., and remained closed at 5 p.m.
Crews were waiting on sand to absorb the spilled diesel. It was not clear what was taking so long to get the sand to the scene.
The inbound Eisenhower was a parking lot beginning at Central Avenue—six miles west of the crash scene.
Meanwhile, motorists at the ramp from the Eisenhower to the Dan Ryan could not get on or off, and some truck drivers were stuck for more than two and a half hours.
A major alternate route, Roosevelt Road, was jammed after the crash. Drivers were advised to use Madison Street to get onto the Kennedy Expressway and follow it through the interchange onto the outbound Dan Ryan.