Update 1:25 p.m.: Classes and other campus events are still planned for tomorrow despite closures and delays that will last until tomorrow morning, according to a University broadcast email. State Police advised that Nicholson Drive and Highland Road are two routes that will especially be affected by traffic.
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A crashed tanker leaking a flammable gas has shut down all lanes of Interstate 10 in both directions, according to the Baton Rouge Fire Department.
I-10 will remain closed from the I-10/I-12 split where the collision occurred to the Siegen Lane exit “at least through the night and into tomorrow,” said Trooper Russell Graham of Louisiana State Police Troop A.
At 3:45 a.m., a passenger vehicle overturned on I-10 eastbound, causing the tanker behind it to slow down rapidly. A beer truck then rear-ended the tanker, causing its valve system to begin leaking isobutane, a flammable gas similar to propane, Monte said.
“Once the hazardous material is clear, we’ll begin investigating the wreck,” said Cpl. L’Jean McKneely, BRPD spokesman.
McKneely said no life threatening injuries occurred.
Essen Lane is also closed in both directions from the 4000 block at United Plaza to 1 Calais, said Curt Monte, Asst. Public Information Officer for BRFD. The on-ramp from Interstate 12 to I-10 is also closed.
The driver of the beer truck and the passenger vehicle were taken to the hospital for injuries, Monte said.
The tanker was hauling about 8,700 gallons of isobutane, according to LSP.
Check back to lsureveille.com for updates on this story.