80-gallon fuel spill on West Seattle Bridge ramp leads to massive cleanup effort
Semi truck struck concrete barrier on Harbor Island & leaked fuel across W Seattle Bridge ramp. (Photo: Seattle Fire Dept.)
SEATTLE -- The eastbound West Seattle Bridge ramp to State Route 99 was closed Tuesday afternoon after a semi truck spilled about 80 gallons of fuel and it ran onto streets near Harbor Island.
Seattle police said officers began receiving calls about a fuel leak at the bridge ramp just before 4:45 p.m. As they arrived, they found roads in the area covered in diesel fuel, making the roads very slick, for approximately one mile leading up to where the fuel source was found, police said.
Officers discovered the disabled semi at the on-ramp surrounded in a three-inch-deep pool of fuel, police said.
The Seattle Fire Department responded to the scene and began sopping up the fuel as it sank into the ground and drained into the sewage system. It is still unknown the extent of damage the fuel may have caused, police said.
The Coast Guard was called to the scene to help prevent fuel from leaking into the Duwamish Waterway, police said.
Officers spoke with the driver of the semi, who said he was unsure of what punctured the tank, but he had been traveling in the direction of the leak. Officers scoured the area and found a raised curb that appeared to have been hit by the truck, tearing a hole in the exposed fuel tank, police said.
Four other vehicles were damaged in collisions related to the fuel spill and many others were trapped in the spilled fuel.
The ramp was expected to be reopened at about midnight.