Burned highway being repaired after tanker truck explodes on I-15 in Utah

MIDVALE, Utah — It took a team effort, but southbound I-15 at the site of an explosive tanker fire Thursday night that snarled traffic for hours will be open in time for Friday’s evening commute.

Utah Department of Transportation spokesman John Gleason said a temporary asphalt patch was placed on the portion of the freeway near 7500 South that was “heavily damaged” by a tanker fire. Fifteen panels, or about 37,500 square feet of freeway in the two right lanes will eventually have to be replaced.

But with an incoming winter storm and the evening commute, Gleason said crews worked through the night to install a temporary fix.

“Originally we thought we were going to have to keep those lanes closed for several days,” he said Friday. “If we were looking at lane closures heading into the storm and the evening commute, it would be a terrible situation with traffic. So it was just an incredible team effort here by (the Utah Highway Patrol), Unified fire, our folks and everybody that was involved here, to come from where we thought we were going to be last night — where we’d have I-15 closed for possibly days, having several lanes closed for possibly days — to where we’re able to open it up by noon today is nothing short of an amazing effort.”

The damage was caused by a tanker fire that burned for hours Thursday. A semitrailer was hauling two tankers carrying 9,000 gallons of gasoline and 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel, according to the UHP.

At some point, the truck’s brakes caught fire, according to KSL.com.

UHP Lt. Todd Royce said other motorists on I-15 pulled up beside the semitrailer and flagged the driver, alerting him to the fire. The driver was able to pull off the freeway to the right shoulder near 7500 South. He was able to get out of the vehicle before the fire spread to the tankers.

The name of the trucking company was not immediately released.

By the time the tanker erupted into a column of fire, shooting flames an estimated 100 feet into the air that could be seen from across the valley, I-15 was shut down in both directions. Cars heading south between 7200 South and 7500 South became trapped at a standstill for hours. Northbound vehicles between 9000 South and 7200 South were also stuck.

Royce said the two biggest concerns for troopers Thursday night was being able to get emergency vehicles to the fire scene, and getting other vehicles out.

“This is a good example of why you should be prepared. You never know how long you’ll be stuck on an interstate,” Royce said.

Utah Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox was among those trapped on the road. He passed the time by being active on Twitter and answering questions from the public.

He said there were no reports of anyone running out of gas on the freeway. But Royce encouraged all motorists to always be prepared with extra gasoline, food, water and clothing or blankets.

As emergency crews got a handle on the situation, Royce said vehicles trapped at the back of the standstill were slowly turned around at the direction of troopers and drivers were directed off the freeway. Royce said it took time to get the other semitrailers on the road to turn their rigs around on the freeway and get off the using on-ramps. He did not know what time it was when the last vehicle finally got off the freeway.

Firefighters from more than 15 agencies, including the Salt Lake City International Airport and the Utah National Guard assisted in putting out the fire.

In a few weeks, when there is no storm in the forecast and there isn’t expected to be a lot of traffic on the freeway, Gleason said UDOT crews will return on a weekend to permanently replace the damaged road panels — an effort he said will take 24 to 30 hours.

This article was originally published by KSL.com. It is used here with permission.