Part of Southbound I-95 Near Fayetteville Reopens

One lane of southbound Interstate 95 north of St. Paul's near Fayetteville reopened Saturday morning after being closed for nearly a day.

Posted 1:27 p.m. Mar 17, 2007 — Updated 10:16 p.m. Mar 17, 2007

SAINT PAULS, N.C. — Officials opened one of two southbound lanes of Interstate 95 in Robeson County Saturday, one day after a tractor-trailer overturned and shut down all lanes of traffic as fuel leaked from the truck.

A fuel tanker carrying gasoline overturned about 9 a.m. Friday morning, spilling 8,700 gallons of gasoline and shutting down both lanes of the highway between mile markers 41 and 33 near the Robeson-Cumberland county line.

The state Department of Transportation expects the other southbound lane between mile markers 41 and 33 will remain closed most of Saturday as crews clean up the fuel spill. The DOT said heavy delays are expected in the area.

The northbound lanes reopened Friday afternoon.

Both northbound and southbound lanes were closed for most of Friday, causing traffic headaches for motorists.

Motorists traveling in the area can expect delays. Southbound traffic can take the following detour:

Take exit 41. At the top of the ramp, turn right onto N.C. 59 until U.S. 301. Take a right onto U.S. 301 south and follow this back to southbound I-95 at exit 33.

Tanker trucks arrived at the scene Friday afternoon to begin pumping fuel from a nearby swamp, and hazmat crews worked to contain the spill.

No other vehicles were involved in the accident that occurred around 9 a.m. Friday south of Fayetteville near St. Pauls.

The driver of the truck, Clifford Sandoval, 41, of Wilson, was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries, state Highway Patrol spokesman Lt. Everett Clendenin said.

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