Road open again after tanker crash

UPDATE: The Wright Brothers Boulevard SW overpass over Interstate 380 has been opened this afternoon after chemicals inside a tanker truck shifted during a turn, causing an accident that shut down an interstate overpass this morning, police said.

Sodium hydroxide started to drip out of the tanker after the semi-trailer truck flipped onto its side on the east side of the Interstate 380 interchange at Wright Brothers Boulevard around 5:40 a.m. Officials said it did not appear to pose an environmental threat.

“It's really a slow drip from what we believe is a ventilation line,” Fire Department spokesman Greg Buelow said.

The northbound I-380 off ramp and the overpassbetween Sixth Street and Kirkwood Boulevard SW remained closed at 2 p.m. Everyone except the hazardous materials crew was being kept back at least 150 feet.

The tanker, driven by 39-year-old Joe Short, of Colona, Ill., was carrying about 50,000 pounds of sodium hydroxide from Muscatine to Red Star Yeast in Cedar Rapids, authorities said. Short started experiencing pain after the accident and was taken to Mercy Medical Center.

The truck is owned by K.A. Steel Chemicals of LeMont, Ill.

Sodium hydroxide, also known as caustic soda or lye, can irritate the eyes, skin and mucous membranes, Buelow said.

By mid-morning, hazardous materials technicians were cutting a hole in the tanker so they could begin pumping the chemical into another tanker truck. Buelow said the original valve was compromised in the wreck.

Police determined Short took the exit off I-380 and was attempting to turn left onto Wright Brothers Boulevard when the tanker tipped over. Officers cited him for failure to maintain control.

A similar accident happened Tuesday afternoon on the ramp to northbound I-380 from eastbound Highway 30. Police said the load shifted the trailer hauled by John St. John, 66, of Cedar Rapids, causing the rig to tip onto its side.

St. John suffered minor injuries and was taken to Mercy Medical Center, police said. He was not charged.