Massive tanker fire on US-131 in Grand Rapids will cause weeks of lane closures for highway repairs

A fiery crash involving a gasoline tanker has shut down a major portion of US-131 in downtown Grand Rapids and will keep traffic flowing slowly for weeks as crews repair the damage.

A semi-truck carrying 8,000 gallons of gasoline and another semi-truck crashed near the Pearl Street exit ramp, sparking an explosion and fire that drew a major emergency response. The Grand Rapids Police Department is still investigating the cause of the crash.

Both drivers were taken to local emergency rooms with minor injuries, said Michigan Department of Transportation Grand Region Communications Director John Richard.

"I still can't believe that no one was seriously hurt," Richard said.

A scorch mark remains visible at the site of the crash. Richard noted the damage is not as extensive as initially feared.

"So far, it's just the retaining wall and the barrier wall that need to be fixed," Richard said.

To repair the damage, the Michigan Department of Transportation said drivers can expect double lane closures on southbound US-131 and a single lane closure on northbound US-131 for weeks.

"Not sure on the timeline yet, but lane closures and ramp closures will be necessary," Richard said.

Drivers may currently see work on a nearby ramp, which was already scheduled to fix a previous hit on a barrier wall.

"To fix that previous hit on the on the barrier wall, but they took care of that during the closure over the weekend. But now there's another closure because of the explosion on Saturday morning," Richard said.

I asked my colleague, Fox 17 traffic reporter Robb Westaby, when he last saw a crash like this.

"Oh, man, maybe three, four years. I think it happens with this kind of conflagration every few years. I don't know why," Westaby said.

A witness, Tony Zaidel, believes a speeding flatbed truck carrying lumber may have played a critical role in the crash.

"I slowed down and got behind the tanker, and then this flatbed semi hauling lumber and a forklift went flying past us way too fast for conditions," Zaidel said, describing heavy rain at the time of the crash. "He threw so much water on me I had to hit the brakes because I couldn't see."

Zaidel said within a few hundred yards, the flatbed began to lose control.

"He starts fishtailing, and then all of a sudden the whole truck turned sideways and slammed into the west concrete wall," he said.

Moments later, Zaidel said the tanker driver attempted to avoid the crash.

"The tanker swerved to the left to avoid hitting the truck and trailer that had just hit the wall," he said. "It went right up against the east concrete wall of the freeway and instantly ignited and blew up."

Zaidel said he was directly behind the tanker when it exploded.

"It was like someone lit a match and the whole thing got big," he said. "It was a fireball, probably 30 feet in diameter, just instantly."

Despite the explosion, Zaidel said the tanker driver managed to escape.

"I see him crawling, I don't even know how he got out of the truck so fast," Zaidel said. "But he made it out of the truck and he was crawling away."

The crash occurred on Saturday morning and shut down US-131 in both directions for nearly 12 hours while emergency crews worked to contain the fire and assess the damage.

Fire crews, along with Grand Rapids police, Michigan State Police and the Michigan Department of Transportation, shut down both northbound and southbound lanes of US-131 to allow space for emergency response.

The incident has left the highway infrastructure damaged and will require weeks of repairs to restore full traffic capacity on one of Grand Rapids' busiest thoroughfares.

Sources:

• https://www.fox17online.com/news/local-news/grand-rapids/massive-tanker-fire-on-us-131-in-grand-rapids-will-cause-weeks-of-lane-closures-for-highway-repairs
• https://wwmt.com/news/local/tanker-crash-grand-rapids-fire-witness-help-driver-highway-us-131-i-196-flatbed-truck-too-fast-tony-zaidel-ramp-closed-explosion-wwmt