SAN ANGELO, Texas — The San Angelo Police Department responded to a crash Friday afternoon at the 1400 block of East Houston Harte Expressway.
The crash closed the eastbound lanes for several hours and drivers were asked to avoid the area.
According to SAPD Officer Welch, a semi-trailer was pulling a trailer with an oil tank on it.
The vehicle was head eastbound of the 1400 block of the East Houston Harte Expressway under the Bell Street Bridge.
There were no injuries reported and no citations had been issued at the time of the crash.
SAPD was still waiting for confirmation of insurance on the vehicles.
"The oil tank on the back was a little over height when it went under the bridge, the tank caught the bridge," Officer Welch said.
The driver said he didn't have any idea of what was in the tank, however, officers said it was oil.
"Officers said it’s a bunch of oil which is now spilled and into the gutter system which has gone into our stormwater system," Officer Welch said.
Crews waited until TxDOT officials arrived to determine if the bridge was structurally safe before moving the vehicles.
The City of San will determine how it will handle the liquid that went into the storm system.
According to Shane Kelton, City of San Angelo executive director of Public Works, the roadway and structure belong to the Texas Department of Transportation.
The drain the oil was spilling into the state's permitted water area, however that drain exits into the City of San Angelo's stormwater system.
"We are down here to try to make sure that we minimize any of this contamination going in our stormwater area to prevent any pollution of our waters," Kelton said.
Once the tank is removed the roadway will be reopened.
- As of 8:15 p.m. Friday evening crews:
- The eastbound lanes remained closed, with no estimated time to reopen them.
- Crews were working to remove the tank
- Texas Commission on Environment Quality officials took samples of the liquid.
- Clean-up had not begun.
The crash remains under investigation.