All lanes were reopened in the Interstate 40 eastbound and Interstate 440 reopened just before 5 p.m. after a sticky spill shut down the intersection for hours Wednesday afternoon.

A stretch of eastbound I-440 in Nashville was closed while crews removed debris from the roadway, the Tennessee Department of Transportation reported

Approximately 300 gallons of parking lot sealant spilled in an earlier vehicle crash, according to Kathryn Schulte, a TDOT spokesperson.

"It's not a huge amount," she said, "but it's 2 inches deep in some spots."

To clean up the mess, TDOT crews had to dry out and then scoop up the material. They used a commercial dehydrator, Schulte said, and then sand, before scraping it off the roadway.

Traffic snarl

The debris was reported on Interstate 40, near the intersection of the two highways at 2:08 p.m. after an earlier report on I-440.

I-440 eastbound was closed between approximately Clifton and West End Avenues.

Traffic in both directions on I-40 was rerouted to alternate roadways. The off-ramp to I-440 at Exit 206 was blocked by emergency personnel.

Commercial crash

A Metro Nashville Police Department spokesperson said the call for the original accident came in around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.

The report indicated the vehicle that lost the load of material may have become stuck in in the spill on the on-ramp, according to the police alert.

The original alert indicated the vehicle's tank was leaking tar onto the road, the MNPD spokesperson said.

TDOT reported that a tow truck had arrived at the scene before 3:30 p.m.

This is a developing story; check back for updates.

Reach Mariah Timms at mtimms@tennessean.com or 615-259-8344 and on Twitter @MariahTimms.