Friday morning commuters can breathe a sigh of relief: About 12 hours after a tanker overturned on the Beltway, Inner Loop lanes reopened.
Traffic started to flow through about 2:30 a.m. Friday, after a multijurisdictional crew cleared a tanker that overturned near the American Legion Bridge and spilled fuel onto the road.
The tanker was carrying about 8,500 gallons of fuel, making it impossible for crews to simply tow the truck off the Beltway, Fairfax County Fire and Rescue said. About 150 gallons of fuel spilled across the road.
Firefighters pumped fuel out of the vehicle and then moved it off the road.
Traffic cameras show traffic moving normally for the Friday morning commute.
Three cars were involved in the crash with the tanker about 1:50 p.m. Thursday, Fairfax County Fire and Rescue said. One person was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
Amazing. Semi trucks parked everywhere around the Beltway. Likely that tanker crash left them sitting in traffic so long operators risked exceeding DOT regs on max. hours driven @nbcwashington pic.twitter.com/6Khlm3fwJn
— Jackie Bensen (@jackiebensen) March 29, 2019
8:30pm & it still looks like rush hour due to ripple effects Beltway tanker crash @nbcwashington pic.twitter.com/01VShuyOr4
— Jackie Bensen (@jackiebensen) March 29, 2019
You know #vatraffic and #dctraffic are bad when 110 by the Pentagon is bright red at 9:45pm on a Thursday in March. pic.twitter.com/QgCiuuon4u
— Devin 🤦🏻♀️ (@da_burke) March 29, 2019
This accident has been here since 2pm. It’s now 8:30. #ugh #dctraffic pic.twitter.com/MG01qO7dAF
— Sherri R (@sdrice) March 29, 2019
28th and Olive. Has not moved in 20 minutes. #dctraffic pic.twitter.com/LtnGgqGvRP
— NameCannotBeBlank (@jpdjill) March 29, 2019
Nights like these make me thankful for @wmata. @drgridlock #rockcreekpark #dctraffic pic.twitter.com/91miBwuRl8
— ricedavidw (@ricedavidw) March 28, 2019
I left my job an hour ago. I’m still trying to leave the parking garage across the street from it. What the hell is going on with #DCTraffic today?! pic.twitter.com/eYUSxKsjSP
— Kristine Kippins (@kippinsk) March 28, 2019
Inner Loop traffic immediately came to a halt and rubbernecking slowed traffic on the Outer Loop. Major roads near the bridge faced stand-still traffic as crippling delays rippled throughout the city.
By 11 p.m., major delays continued to prevent drivers from getting to their destinations.
"I've seen people get out of their car and walk," said Sandy Rosenblatt, who was stuck in the traffic. "I pack my lunch every day and packed extra snacks. I had two extra bananas and that was my dinner."
