SLIDELL, La. – State police say the twin spans of Interstate 10 have been shut down because a tanker truck crashed and spilled 4,700 gallons of hydrochloric acid.
Police say the highway is shut down for six miles in both directions between Irish Bayou and Old Spanish Trail and will remain closed for much of the day. State trooper Louis Calato says the public is not in any danger and homeowners in the area have not been evacuated.
Calato says the spill happened about 4:30 a.m. Saturday after a truck trying to get on the highway from the twin spans over Lake Pontchartrain lost control and hit a barricade. Calato says no acid has gone into the lake.
There are concerns that the acid could turn to vapor and start to spread if it starts to rain. Calato says an independent contractor is trying to get the acid neutralized before that happens.
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