After a tanker truck accident, overturning, and fuel spillage on Wednesday, Route 3 in Billerica will remain closed for hours. Massachusetts State Police said that a portion of the highway will be closed “for the foreseeable future.”
Several vehicles were involved in the crash on the northbound lanes just before 10 a.m., with a tanker carrying “several thousand gallons of fuel.” Traffic on both sides of the highway between Treble Cove Road and Route 129 has been closed for cleanup and investigation. Ramps from Route 495 to Route 3 south are also closed.
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation advised drivers to find alternative routes as it is uncertain when the highway will reopen.
MassDOT said in a statement, “The northbound lanes of Route 3 could be closed from tonight into tomorrow morning as the footpath of the northbound lane has been damaged and needs repair by MassDOT personnel.”
There is no information about the cause of the accident yet, but a viewer sent a dashboard camera video to WBZ-TV. It shows a sedan and a pickup truck colliding in the left lane, and the pickup then colliding with the tanker, causing it to overturn.
The state police stated that the tanker’s driver and one driver from another vehicle sustained minor injuries.
Northbound traffic is being diverted at Exit 78, and southbound traffic is being diverted at Exit 79.
No further information is available at this point in the investigation
