Both Lanes Of US-41 Set To Reopen At Sturgeon River Bridge

Contaminated soil cleanup efforts are expected to be completed by the weekend in Chassell.

At that time, the highway will reopen to both lanes of traffic on US-41.

Truckload after truckload, crews have been removing the fuel soaked soil for nearly two weeks from the spill site where an overturned fuel tanker dumped 4,400 gallons onto the ground and nearby river.

The spill was caused from a four vehicle accident, resulting in the death of a 45 year old Hubbell woman.

The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 4,000 gallons of gasoline and 400 gallons of diesel fuel made its way to the banks and onto the ice on the Sturgeon River.

Rachel Bassler, a regional spokesperson of the agency, says that a small amount of fuel may have seeped into the river at the base of the bridge, but the majority of the spill was soaked up by the surrounding soil.

Bassler states that the EPA has conducted surveys of the river water at over 40 locations between the spill site and the bay and found that the downstream water has not been impacted.

As crews remove the contaminated soil, which will end up in a landfill in Ontonagon after being treated at a waste management facility, they have been replacing it with clean dirt.

Bassler states that most of the work is being paid for by the company who owns the tanker truck.

The EPA, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, and the fuel transport company who owns the tanker will routinely monitor the site and the river over the next few months to look for any residual contamination.