The southbound Red Hill Valley Expressway will stay closed from the QEW to Barton Street into the evening as a cleanup of a Tuesday morning crash and fuel spill continues through the afternoon rush hour.

Hamilton police said cleanup crews are working to get some lanes open as soon as possible but advise commuters who use the route to make alternate plans.

The crash ended up with a transport truck sitting in the Red Hill Creek, its fuel leaking out into the creek. It snarled traffic on the southbound lanes as emergency crews worked to contain the fuel spilling into the creek.

The incident took place around 8:15 a.m., when a transport truck carrying two scissor lifts and collided with a small sedan on the Red Hill Valley Parkway, underneath the Barton Street overpass.

According to police, the woman who was driving the sedan lost control on an on-ramp, went over the curb of the ramp and then ended up in oncoming traffic.

The transport truck driver swerved to avoid hitting her straight on, and ended up going through a guardrail and flipping into the creek.

"He miraculously walked away without injuries," Const. Steve Welton told CBC News. The woman who was driving the sedan was taken to hospital with minor injuries.

Though the drivers escaped mostly unscathed, the saddlebags of the truck ruptured on the way down, spilling diesel fuel into the creek, fire official Claudio Mostacci told CBC News. A hazmat unit has set up booms to try to contain the spill and keep it from progressing down the waterway.

The Ministry of Environment has been called in to assist with cleanup. Charges are pending, Welton said, adding that the roads were very slick at the time. "Weather has played a factor," he said.

The southbound lanes of the Red Hill expressway are closed at the Barton Street overpass, and Welton said they will be closed well into rush hour. Drivers are advised to not use the RHVP.

A second accident also took place when drivers slowed down to gawk at the accident. There were no injuries.