Dozing driver blamed for paint spill on US 95 northwest of Las Vegas
A large latex paint spill caused by driver fatigue early Monday on U.S. Highway 95 near Lee Canyon will take several days to clean up, according to the Nevada Department of Transportation.
The spill happened sometime between 4:30 a.m. and 4:45 a.m. after a driver had “dozed off,” NDOT spokesman Tony Illia said.
The tractor-trailer, which was hauling 1-gallon and 5-gallon buckets of paint, rolled over on U.S. 95 near Kyle Canyon Road, causing an hourslong closure of the highway’s southbound lanes. The paint spilled across a 150-by-200-foot area, with about 90 percent of the paint covering the center median, Illia said.
There were no reported injuries in the crash.
About 8:10 a.m., a shoulder of the highway was opened after the tractor-trailer had been turned upright. The remaining lanes were expected to be closed through the rest of the day.
The cleanup will take several days “since the paint has soaked into the dirt center median, thereby requiring heavy machinery” to remove and back fill the contaminated dirt, Illia said.
Contact Rio Lacanlale at rlacanlale@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Follow @riolacanlale on Twitter.
