Section of I-94 reopened at Oakwood after fuel tanker crash

By 2:30 p.m. Thursday the freeway was reopened.

The driver was not injured but fuel spilled across the road, causing the section of the freeway to be closed, according to Allen Park police.

Starting at Oakwood at I-94, the spill stretched for a mile and a half to the Southfield freeway, according to Diane Cross, spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Transportation. Cross said that "A lot of variables made it a long, slow cleanup." 

Michigan State Police, Allen Park police and fire and Downriver Hazmat was at the scene. Trucks using sand helped collect the spilled fuel. 

While cleanup lasted through the early morning hours through to Thursday afternoon, traffic was being diverted off the freeway and surrounding entrances like the Southfield freeway at I-94, were closed.

The cold conditions complicated the cleanup process, Cross said.

"The weather ended up being a factor for a couple reasons," she said. "The cold temperatures on the ground made the diesel fuel adhere to the ground. Then we had a cold rain that put a film on top of the fuels that required us to bring in salt trucks to cut through the ice, so the absorbant could work."