Mike Salsbury/The Olympian
Northbound drivers maneuver through aluminum cans as four Washington State Patrol officers decide what to do about the Interstate 5 mess Friday near the Lilly Road overpass in Olympia. A pickup lost its load of empty cans, and the cleanup required the closure of all northbound lanes, backing up traffic for a short time.

Mike Salsbury/The Olympian
Interstate 5 northbound traffic comes to a standstill in Olympia as road crews clear aluminum cans from the freeway.

Spill puts motorists in a crunch

State Patrol halts northbound traffic for cleanup

JIM CARLILE THE OLYMPIAN

OLYMPIA -- Interstate 5 was paved with empty cans Friday morning, but it wasn't a new recycling program.

A pickup lost its load of empty aluminum cans Friday morning on I-5 near Exit 108 in Olympia.

The cans fell from the truck at 9:17 a.m. and were cleaned up a short time later, said Lt. Bob Johnson of the Washington State Patrol.

But removing the cans forced the State Patrol to close all of the northbound lanes for a short time, which backed up traffic.

Driver cited

"The pickup lost its load of cans that were headed for recycling," Johnson said. "The driver was cited for load violation."

The cans were not properly secured in the truck, according to a State Patrol dispatcher.

Johnson said Grant Bates of Raymond had a gated trailer attached to his flatbed truck and was traveling north when the trailer started swaying.

Several bags full of cans broke open, and thousands of cans covered the road.

No injuries, no damage

There were no injuries. Because the cans were empty, they did not damage any passing vehicles, Johnson said.

The Department of Transportation sent out a front-end loader and sweeper to clean up the mess.

"When the incident response team arrived on the scene, three of the four lanes were open, and the left lane had over a foot-deep volume of aluminum cans," said Lisa Murdock, a communications intern for the DOT.

Murdock said all of the lanes were blocked for about 10 minutes as a loader scooped up the cans. All of the lanes were clear by 10:45 a.m., she said.

"Everyone was fortunate, all things considered," Johnson said. "It did not cause any collisions."

Jim Carlile covers crime and public safety for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-754-5465 or jcarlile@olympia.gannett.com.

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