Eastbound lanes of Highway 71 reopen after 18-wheeler crash, diesel spill

LAKEWAY, Texas (KXAN) — The eastbound lanes of Highway 71 near FM 620 are back open after all lanes of the highway were closed due to an 18-wheeler crashing into a 500-gallon fuel drum spilled it all over the roadway.

“The incident halted all Eastbound and Westbound traffic in this area for several hours as crews worked to clear the scene,” City of Bee Cave officials said.

One Westbound lane opened back up at 1:30 p.m., and officials said they were working to open the second westbound lane.

“Since the fuel spilled off the road, into the adjacent soil next to the roadway, TCEQ worked to remove the contaminated soil and replace it with new soil. That process wrapped up around 2 p.m.,” city officials said.

Lakeway Police tweeted at 5:21 a.m. Wednesday that all lanes of 71 were shut down between Great Divide Drive and Bee Cave Parkway. That area is near the Hill Country Galleria.

Bee Cave Police Chief Brian Jones said the police department was working with TXDOT, TCEQ and LTFR to reopen all lanes of traffic and mitigate any possible contamination caused by the diesel fuel spill.

In another tweet at 7:36 a.m., Lakeway Police said one eastbound lane reopened but all westbound lanes were still closed, and it may take hours to clean up the diesel.

By 8:56 a.m., all eastbound lanes had reopened, according to Lakeway PD’s Twitter. The westbound lanes are still closed while crews work to clean the diesel on the road.

Traffic is being diverted to Bee Cave Parkway and FM 620.

Bee Cave Police said the 18-wheeler hit a 500-gallon tank of diesel on 71 near Great Divide Drive, and the diesel spilled all over the road. Police said it’s not clear why the tank was there.

No injuries were reported. Police said to expect significant delays.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.