Overturned Tanker Shuts Down I-5 North in Centralia

Centralia, Washington – Heads up if you are heading North on I-5 through Washington today. All Northbound lanes are blocked in Centralia by an over turned tanker. It’s hauling four thousand gallons of used motor oil and is leaking. Washington State Patrol says 18-hundred gallons have escaped and have spread into a culvert. Haz mat crews are on their way to the scene. WSP says this could be a mess all day. The driver has been arrested for DUI. He’s been taken to the Lewis County Jail.

Drivers are being told to get off the freeway at Exit 82 and then jump back on at Exit 88. Trooper Will Finn says “you can imagine taking three lanes of travel with big rigs and holiday traffic down through a city and two lane highway is going to present a lot of challenges for some folks. So, we’re asking you to delay travel and wait for this clean up effort to be completed.”

He says some cars drove through the motor oil and spread it three miles up the freeway. He says that three mile stretch will also need to be cleaned before the freeway can reopen.