NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — A cooking oil spill caused a traffic stoppage on the HRBT Friday morning, VDOT says.
The I-64 eastbound lanes closed shortly after 4:30 a.m. There were intermittent stoppages on I-64 westbound to let drivers stuck on the eastbound lanes out.
In addition, all I-664 southbound lanes on the MMMBT in Newport News were closed due to a crash. VDOT has since shared information on the spill and how crews managed the clean up and traffic flow.
Watch related coverage: HRBT stoppage heading eastbound due to "incident"
Around 4 a.m. the HRBT Control Room noticed a disabled tractor trailer in the eastbound tunnel near the tunnel exit. They noticed other vehicles slowing down as if trying to avoid something in the road. By this time, the tractor trailer made its way out of the tunnel onto the HRBT’s South Island and had left the scene before the spill was identified and before anyone could make contact with the driver.
VDOT personnel quickly stopped traffic and sent staff to the HRBT. There, crews saw broken bottles of cooking oil, noting that oil was spilled in both eastbound lanes throughout the entire tunnel.
Crews cleaned up the spilled oil by bringing in and spreading oil dry materials onto the road area. More crews were also dispatched from VDOT’s Pine Chapel Area Headquarters with a sweeper truck to sweep up the oil dry materials back off the roadway. HRBT Expansion Project’s contractor, Hampton Roads Connector Partners (HRCP), also assisted with spreading the oil dry and providing a second sweeper truck.
Watch related coverage: Multi-vehicle crash on I-64 in Hampton near Lasalle Avenue closes all westbound lanes and the HRBT
VDOT proceeded to direct traffic by temporarily closing the westbound lanes at different periods to allow the eastbound traffic to be turned around and rediverted westbound.
Traffic was also being diverted off at Settlers Landing Road prior to reaching the HRBT.
All lanes reopened around 7:30 a.m.
