Alsip Fire Department Haz-Mat Box South Bound 294 North Of 127th Street Tanker Rolled Over
BY CASEY TONER ctoner@southtownstar.com March 20, 2012 3:14PM
The patience of hundreds of drivers taking Interstate 294 through the Southland was put to the test over several hours Tuesday as an overturned tanker led to the closure of the southbound lanes between 95th and 127th streets.
The lanes were closed from before noon until about 8 p.m., turning rush-hour traffic into a nightmare even on area streets as drivers tried to find alternate routes.
The tanker, which was carrying hydrochloric acid, turned over and blocked all three lanes of traffic after a vehicle made an illegal U-turn in its path at about 11:43 a.m. at 127th Street, Illinois State Police Trooper Michelle Kistulinec said.
Authorities had to empty the tanker before it could be removed, and hazardous materials crews still were busy cleaning chemicals, including gasoline, well into rush hour.
Kistulinec said the driver of the truck suffered minor injuries in the crash, which is still under investigation.
Tami Overall, of Oak Forest, drove past the accident about 12:30 p.m. as she was heading to a meeting at a corporate office in Oak Brook. The cleanup was still in progress for her return trip, and while her normal drive time is 35 to 40 minutes, after two hours she had only made it to the 95th Street exit, where the McDonald’s at 7620 W. 95th St. in Hickory Hills was packed with cars forced to exit there.
“I wasn’t in the accident, so I’m happy about that,” Overall said. “Patience is the key. There’s nothing you can do about it.”
Streets in towns from Hickory Hills to Crestwood also were affected after drivers for forced to exit at 95th Street.
Robin Bruska had no idea how she was going to navigate those alternate routes. The Detroit-area resident had taken her son Sam Carter, a student at Michigan State University, to look at a medical school in Downers Grove. They got on I-294 near I-88 about 2:15 p.m. and arrived at the 95th Street exit about 6 p.m.
At some points, traffic wasn’t even creeping along.
“We actually would stand for 10 minutes at a time,” Carter said.
So he napped, and Bruska said she listened to National Public Radio because it was “soothing.”
“We are grace under pressure,” she said.
But they still had to find a way home: Carter has class Wednesday.
“I don’t know the roads around here. That’s the problem,” Bruska said.
Read MoreThe patience of hundreds of drivers taking Interstate 294 through the Southland was put to the test over several hours Tuesday as an overturned tanker led to the closure of the southbound lanes between 95th and 127th streets.
The lanes were closed from before noon until about 8 p.m., turning rush-hour traffic into a nightmare even on area streets as drivers tried to find alternate routes.
The tanker, which was carrying hydrochloric acid, turned over and blocked all three lanes of traffic after a vehicle made an illegal U-turn in its path at about 11:43 a.m. at 127th Street, Illinois State Police Trooper Michelle Kistulinec said.
Authorities had to empty the tanker before it could be removed, and hazardous materials crews still were busy cleaning chemicals, including gasoline, well into rush hour.
Kistulinec said the driver of the truck suffered minor injuries in the crash, which is still under investigation.
Tami Overall, of Oak Forest, drove past the accident about 12:30 p.m. as she was heading to a meeting at a corporate office in Oak Brook. The cleanup was still in progress for her return trip, and while her normal drive time is 35 to 40 minutes, after two hours she had only made it to the 95th Street exit, where the McDonald’s at 7620 W. 95th St. in Hickory Hills was packed with cars forced to exit there.
“I wasn’t in the accident, so I’m happy about that,” Overall said. “Patience is the key. There’s nothing you can do about it.”
Streets in towns from Hickory Hills to Crestwood also were affected after drivers for forced to exit at 95th Street.
Robin Bruska had no idea how she was going to navigate those alternate routes. The Detroit-area resident had taken her son Sam Carter, a student at Michigan State University, to look at a medical school in Downers Grove. They got on I-294 near I-88 about 2:15 p.m. and arrived at the 95th Street exit about 6 p.m.
At some points, traffic wasn’t even creeping along.
“We actually would stand for 10 minutes at a time,” Carter said.
So he napped, and Bruska said she listened to National Public Radio because it was “soothing.”
“We are grace under pressure,” she said.
But they still had to find a way home: Carter has class Wednesday.
“I don’t know the roads around here. That’s the problem,” Bruska said.
