Hill O' Chips, a notoriously steep street in downtown St. John's, was not named after french fries, but it certainly had that feeling on Wednesday morning after a spill.

An oil spill — a cooking oil spill, according to a cleanup worker — made for a greasy mess, with traffic diverted around the muddle on Hill O' Chips, whose name actually comes from wooden chips stored there generations ago.

A worker said a can had tipped over and fell out of the back of the truck.

"It actually made conditions slippery," said CBC reporter Adam Walsh, who said there was "a distinct restaurant kitchen smell" as crews kept traffic moving, sometimes with difficulty.

"Some bigger vehicles skidded their tires going up the hill," Walsh added.