UPDATE: CDOT crews reopen I-25 near Denver Tech Center for morning commute after fuel tanker fire



A fire that erupted when a fuel tanker slammed into the median along northbound Interstate 25 closed the highway in the heart of the Denver Tech Center in both directions for hours on Wednesday afternoon, snarling rush-hour traffic across a wide swath of the region.

Black smoke billowed over the city as streams of flame spread across several lanes of the highway. The fire was so intense at one point that light-rail passengers could feel the heat from inside their passing trains. Witnesses reported explosions that sent tires flying across the road. Two Colorado Department of Transportation workers at the scene helped pull the burned driver from his truck.

All southbound lanes on the 10-lane stretch reopened by 1 a.m., but northbound lanes remain closed between Dry Creek Road and I-225.

Shailen Bhatt, executive director of CDOT, said crews working through the night hope to reopen all lanes on that stretch of I-25 by 6 a.m. But he said some northbound lanes could remain closed Thursday morning, depending on the damage. Seventy CDOT and contract workers were deployed on the repairs, and CDOT brought in 100 tons of asphalt.

The accident happened around noon when the northbound truck — carrying 500 gallons of diesel fuel and 500 gallons of eight different types of oil — lost a tire and crashed into the median. The driver was taken to Swedish Medical Center, but his condition was not immediately known.

Removing the burned vehicle from NB I-25. Crews will begin repairs soon. All NB lanes will remain closed until repairs are complete. pic.twitter.com/1PoM44Iftr — CDOT (@ColoradoDOT) June 1, 2017

Tens of thousands of cars snaked along jammed alternate routes as motorists tried to steer clear of the area, which normally carries about 200,000 vehicles each day. The tanker continued to burn for hours after the crash, and white firefighting foam surrounded the truck while flames flickered from the wreckage.

Traffic backed up for several miles along on I-25 and Interstate 225, and CDOT waived tolls along E-470.

CDOT in position for 1-25 repairs from major fire,closing NB, SB open in DTC. pic.twitter.com/4AmDeyVUPo — CDOT (@ColoradoDOT) May 31, 2017

The fire forced the Regional Transportation District to shut down all E, F, and R light-rail service between Dry Creek and Belleview stations, but trains began running again by midafternoon.

Our challenge: 500 gallons of Diesel + 500 gallons of eight different oil types. — SouthMetroFireRescue (@SouthMetroPIO) May 31, 2017

Bhatt said officials were trying to figure out who owns the tanker.

“(There’s) not a lot of the truck to go on,” he said.

He praised two CDOT workers who were nearby doing maintenance and “sprung into action” and helped the driver escape.

“They view it as part of their job,” he said.

“A lot of our men and women are first on the scene (of accidents),” Bhatt said. “I’m incredibly proud of the men and women of CDOT.”

A man who saw the accident told KMGH-Channel 7 that he watched as the truck began to smoke and then slammed into the median and burst into flame.

The driver was pulled out “as his leg was engulfed in flame,” the witness said.

There were three or four large explosions, “with tires flying on the road,” the witness said.

David Burrell, who works in a building next to I-25, said he also saw the crash.

“I heard a loud scraping sound,” he said. When he looked out a window, he saw the tanker coming to a stop, and it appeared there was something hanging from the back and scraping the ground. “I saw streaks of fire behind the truck.”

His view was partly obscured, but he saw one man, who he believed had escaped the truck, on the ground. “He looked like he was looking under the truck and then he fell.”

A man jumped from a vehicle that was stopped about 100 yards behind the burning truck, ran up and pulled the man who had fallen to safety, Burrell said.