Some of you may have wondered why some folks did not make it to church on Sunday. Some of us received many text updates from those trying their best to get to San Saba on Hwy. 16 from south of town.
At first, the messages said they would be late because their lane was closed down just a few minutes from town.....just waiting for the police to open up the lane for thru traffic
A few minutes later, it became evident to those trying to get to town that the road was not going to open right back up.
After researching what happened, here is some information provided by our leaders:
Information from Judge Jody Fauley
CAUTION - A truck hauling asphalt had an accident on highway 16 at Simpson Creek this morning. Highway is closed pending hazmat cleanup. No through traffic on Hwy 16 South, please plan any travel accordingly. Thankful for no injuries in the accident. Thanks to San Saba County Sheriff's office, EMC Marsha Hardy, San Saba Volunteer Fire Dept, TxDOT, and TxDPS for their quick response
Event timeline from San Saba Sheriff's office
2/15/24 8:40 AM - Please be advised that Hwy 16 S. currently has all lanes closed, in both directions, due to a truck spill. The spill is located a mile south of the city of San Saba.
It is unknown when this situation will be cleared so please avoid this area if possible and find an alternative route if you must travel.
We will update this post as more information becomes available
12/15/24 12:30 PM - Hwy 16 S. is still closed and we still do not have a time frame for when it will be reopened. We will update this post as we have more information.
12/15/24 5:30 - PM the road is now OPEN.
Information provided by San Saba County Emergency Management Coordinator Marsha Hardy
The call came in a little before 8 a.m. about a "fuel truck overturned and leaking gas." An officer arrived and amended it to an "asphalt truck and leaking oil." SSVFD and EMS were paged.
The road needed to be closed, and SSVFD established traffic control near the old drive-in for Southbound; location for the Northbound was uncertain.
A large truck towing was requested. HazMat services were requested for cleanup of the bar ditch and creek bed. A regional HazMat team out of Killeen responded to the scene.
SAS Towing and Wrecker out of Lometa responded for the lifting and towing request. And they, also, have Environmental Services within in the company, out of Leander, and they responded for the spill.
A formal report was made to TCEQ, and permission was given for the cleanup.
About 1:00 p.m., notification was made that the truck had been moved and was loaded and sitting waiting to be taken to unknown location, and 1,000 gallons of liquid emulsified asphalt had been in the truck.
At that point, TxDOT began working on the road and SAS began on the bar ditch. Around 5:50 p.m, TxDOT had cleared and was reopening SH16. The HazMat teams and SAS were down in the creek bed finishing cleanup. And then finally, around 7:00 p.m., the cleanup was completed.
Other note: EMS radioed later that the driver refused treatment, and they returned to base.