Westbound Interstate 70 is closed at Copper Mountain due to a truck that leaked hydrochloric acid on the roadway, officials said Friday morning.
The hazardous materials situation happened near East Vail at mile marker 183, according to the Vail Fire Department.
A commercial cargo truck driver was headed down a pass and thought his brakes were malfunctioning after seeing smoke behind his truck. When the driver investigated the situation, he realized he was actually seeing vapor from the acid eating through his truck, said Vail Fire Chief Mark Novak.
Acid containers inside the truck leaked, Novak said, and other chemicals may be involved, as well.
EB traffic is still moving. The alternate route in place is CO 91 (mile point 195) from Copper Mountain south to US 24 west (Minturn) to I-70. Please be patient when driving the alternate route. A secondary crash will only make this incident tougher!
— Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) (@ColoradoDOT)
No one has been injured in the incident, Novak said.
Clean up crews are on site just before 9 a.m. figuring out what the best course of action would be to mitigate the acid.
There is no estimated time of the interstate’s reopening.
“Expect delays and use caution in the area,” read a Vail Fire Department tweet.
