Chicken fat clogged a major traffic artery Tuesday, a day after a leaky truck left a stinky, slippery trail along a one-mile stretch of Interstate 20.The vacuum truck crossed the Ouachita River before it was pulled over about 3:30 p.m. Monday.
The truck's owner, Dixie Hydro-vac Specialist Co., an industrial cleaning company from West Monroe, tried to clean up the mess with a chemical, but then it started to rain, said John Kelly, district administrator for the state Department of Transportation and Development.
Crews spread sand over the gunk, which was mainly in one eastbound lane, and worked Tuesday to scoop up the mess and keep it from oozing farther on the concrete bridge deck, Kelly said. Traffic was able to use the second lane.
"The stench was overpowering," Kelly said
He said the crews couldn't just turn fire hoses on it because that would have sent the smelly pollution straight into the river. The time for finishing the cleanup depended on whether it rained again, he said.
A second truck was brought in to transport the remaining fat. The spill was considered noxious but not toxic, according to a hazardous materials officer, Monroe fire officials said. It wasn't immediately clear where the fat originated.