8/27 4:58 AM: The California Highway Patrol has reopened all southbound lanes of U.S. Highway 101 near Brisbane this morning after a chemical spill Wednesday night forced the closure of portions of the highway for more than six hours, a CHP officer said.
Units first received reports of a toxic cloud coming from smoldering debris on the right shoulder of southbound Highway 101 near Sierra Point Parkway at around 9:30 p.m., CHP Officer Ralph Caggiano said.
A preliminary investigation determined that five 1-liter bottles labeled “thionyl chloride,” possibly dumped on the shoulder by an unknown party, were leaking and causing a chemical cloud, Caggiano said. A Sig-alert closing the far right hand lane was issued at 10 p.m. so a California Department of Transportation hazardous materials team could respond.
At 11 p.m., a full closure of southbound lanes was issued, Caggiano said. Southbound traffic was diverted on to Interstate Highway 280 in San Francisco for more than three hours, and various onramps to Highway 101 were shut down, including those at Paul Street, Alemany Boulevard and Third Street.
At 2:15 a.m., the CHP announced the reopening of three left lanes to southbound traffic, Caggiano said, and at 4:35 a.m., the Sig-alert was cancelled and the roadway was declared clear.
8/27 2:52 AM: The California Highway Patrol has reopened a portion of southbound U.S. Highway 101 in Brisbane this morning after an unknown chemical spill Wednesday night forced a full closure of the highway for more than three hours, a CHP officer said.
Units first received reports of a toxic cloud coming from smoldering debris on the right shoulder of southbound Highway 101 near Sierra Point Parkway at around 9:30 p.m., CHP Officer Ralph Caggiano said.
A preliminary investigation determined that several 1-liter bottles, possibly dumped on the shoulder by an unknown party, were leaking a hazardous material that caused a chemical cloud, Caggiano said. A Sig-alert closing the far right hand lane was issued at 10 p.m. so a California Department of Transportation hazardous materials team could respond.
At 11 p.m., a full closure of southbound lanes was issued as a Sig-alert update, Caggiano said. Southbound traffic was diverted on to Interstate Highway 280 in San Francisco, and various onramps to Highway 101 were shut down, including those at Paul Street, Alemany Boulevard and Third Street.
At 2:15 a.m., the CHP announced the reopening of three left lanes to southbound traffic, Caggiano said. There was no estimated time to reopen the far right lane as of 2:30 a.m., Caggiano said, and no determination yet of what the chemical causing the continuing closure might be.
8/26 11:49 PM: The California Highway Patrol has closed access to all of southbound U.S. Highway 101 in Brisbane tonight to accommodate hazardous materials crews working to clear the area of an unknown substance, a CHP officer said.
Units first received reports of a toxic cloud coming from smoldering debris on the right shoulder of southbound Highway 101 near Sierra Point Parkway at around 9:30 p.m., CHP Officer Ralph Caggiano said.
A preliminary investigation determined that 1-liter bottles, possibly dumped on the shoulder, were leaking a chemical causing a hazardous cloud, Caggiano said. A Sig-alert closing the far right hand lane was issued at 10 p.m. so a hazardous materials team could respond.
At 11 p.m., a full closure of southbound lanes was issued as a Sig-alert update, Caggiano said. Southbound traffic is being diverted on to Interstate Highway 280 in San Francisco.
There was no estimated time of reopening the highway as of 11:30 p.m., Caggiano said, and no determination yet of what the chemical causing the closure might be.
