US 75 south of Bartlesville reopened following diesel spill

BARTLESVILLE, Okla. - U.S. Highway 75, closed Friday morning just south of Bartlesville due to a diesel spill from a semi-truck, has been reopened to all traffic in all lanes, according to officials.

According Bartlesville Police Capt. Jay Hastings, the highway from Camelot to Rice Creek Road was completely closed until 1 p.m. as crews began clean-up efforts. It was then traffic reopened to 2-way traffic, it having been routed onto the highway's northbound lanes as crews continued their clean-up work.

Washington County Emergency Management Director Kary Cox told 2NEWS though normal traffic resumed on the highway shortly after 4 p.m.

"Our biggest concern was to keep the diesel fuel from running into the storm drains into the water," he said, saying though another concern was the pavement itself.

"Diesel fuel is very harmful to the asphalt roadway," he said, saying a remediation company will likely have the road narrowed down for another two hours.

Officials said the semi-truck lost an estimated 100 to 150-gallons of fuel when a drive shaft came loose and ruptured the semi-tractor's fuel tanks.

The highway originally closed at 10 a.m.