BILLERICA – Route 3 in Billerica will be shut down for hours after a tanker truck crashed, rolled over and leaked fuel across the road Wednesday. Massachusetts State Police said that section of the highway will be closed for the “foreseeable future.”
A Tesla and a pickup truck were also involved in the crash, which happened in the northbound lanes just before 10 a.m.. The tanker was carrying “several thousand gallons of fuel,” police said and much of it spilled.
Traffic on both sides of the highway between Treble Cove Road and Route 129 has been shut down for the cleanup and investigation. The ramps from Route 495 to Route 3 south are also closed.
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation said drivers should find other routes because there’s no estimate when the highway will reopen.
“Closures on Route 3 northbound may be in place tonight into early tomorrow morning as northbound lane pavement has been damaged and needs to be repaired,” MassDOT said in a statement.
There’s no official word yet on what caused the crash, but a viewer sent dashboard camera video of it to WBZ-TV. It showed the Tesla and the pickup truck colliding in the left lane. The pickup then slammed into the tanker, causing it to roll over.
“The driver of the tanker and the driver of one of the other vehicles involved sustained minor injuries,” State Police said.
Northbound traffic is being detoured off at exit 78 and the southbound side at exit 79.
No other information is available at this point in the investigation.