Hazmat spill leads to closure of I-85 in Braselton

A loaded tractor-trailer caught fire early this morning on Interstate 85 in Braselton and spilled over 300 gallons of corrosive material onto the highway.

No one was injured, but 3:15 a.m. incident led to the closure of the interstate both north and south. The northbound lanes reopened at 6 a.m. One southbound lane opened around 6:30 a.m. The southbound ramp of Exit 126 remains closed while emergency personnel await the arrival of a crew from Atlanta to clean up the spill.

“We had a tractor-trailer that had mechanical failure, and two rear wheels caught on fire,” said Lt. Scott Dakin of Barrow County Emergency Services. “This spread up into the trailer portion of the truck. It was carrying freight that was hazardous materials that got impinged by the fire.”

Dakin said the truck caught fire while traveling down the interstate and just happened to pull over onto the southbound ramp of the exit for Highway 211.

The hazardous material is a corrosive substance but poses no danger to emergency workers, because it is not an inhalant, and emergency workers managed to contain it, Dakin said.

“It has all been contained on the asphalt, and what we are doing now is waiting for a cleanup crew.”

Responding to the incident from Barrow County Emergency Services were Engine 5, Med Unit 5, Battalion 1 and Dakin, who is the public information officer for the department.

“Gwinnett also was on the scene because it was on the county line,” Dakin said. “Gwinnett had a hazmat team respond as well.”