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Update: Trans-Canada Highway reopens to traffic at Goldstream

Overturned tanker finally cleared

The Trans-Canada Highway has reopened to traffic in both directions at Goldstream Park after a tanker truck overturned Saturday night.

It took several more hours than originally thought to reopen the highway Sunday.

“They were waiting on a second large tow truck to right the rig,'' said West Shore RCMP Cpl. Scott Braes Sunday morning. "This is not just your routine pull and upright a car.’’

A Columbia Fuels tanker truck rolled over at Goldstream Park and the Trans Canada Highway at about 6 p.m. Saturday. The tanker of the truck was damaged in the crash.

The driver, a 33-year-old Nanaimo man, is in custody at the West Shore RCMP detachment and being investigated for alleged impaired driving.

West Shore RCMP and Langford Fire Rescue attended the crash scene. Evidence at the site suggested fuel from the tanker may have entered Goldstream and the Ministry of Environment was advised.

It’s believed as much as 30,000 litres of fuel from the tanker may have been spilled.

Environmental concerns made it necessary to close the highway immediately in both directions.

The Vancouver Island Criminal Crash Investigation Team, RCMP South Island Traffic Services and the Integrated Collision and Re-constructionist Section are investigating.

Traffic at the Mill Bay-Brentwood Bay ferry run was heavy on both sides, as travellers looked for other options to bypass the crash site while the highway was closed.



Don Bodger

About the Author: Don Bodger

I've been a part of the newspaper industry since 1980 when I began on a part-time basis covering sports for the Ladysmith-Chemainus Chronicle.
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