Richardson Highway reopens after military convoy incident

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTUU) - Traffic was at a standstill Thursday morning after a military convoy vehicle incident closed the Richardson Highway at mile 300, near the Harding and Birch Lakes area.

“I got a call at about 4 a.m. alerting me of the trailer roll over,” said Kimberley Maher, the northern region state on scene coordinator for the Alaska Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC).

According to officials, the incident occurred early this morning while a convoy was traveling through the area as part of the Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center training exercise with military vehicles and personnel moving between Fort Wainwright and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson and the Donnelly Training Area near Delta Junction.

The vehicle was one of approximately 12 in the convoy, according to the 11th Airborne Division.

The vehicle was towing a trailer that was carrying a tank rack module, which is part of a fueling system. The trailer tipped over, and the module started to develop a slow leak, according to the 11th Airborne Division.

Fort Wainwright’s environmental protection team was dispatched and recovery operations were underway, which caused the temporary blockage of the highway.

The DEC said the Army told them the fuel in question was diesel which is easily managed in the winter.

“A lot of our roads are, you know, have a lot of snowpack either over the road or adjacent to it, and snow is a really great absorbent of diesel,” Maher said.

As to how much leaked out of the trailer remains unknown.

John Pennell, the Media Relations Chief for the 11th Airborne Division, stated that no injuries were reported.

As of 11:15 a.m., the highway was reopened, according to state troopers.

Keep it to Alaska’s News Source for updates.

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