I-75 south reopens in Butler County after overturned tanker

WEST CHESTER TWP., Butler County — UPDATE @ 2:41 p.m.: 

All lanes of I-75 are open in Bulter County .

I-75 south lanes reopened shortly after 2:40 p.m., according to the Ohio Department of Transportation.

“We greatly appreciate all of the first responders, highway workers and the patience of the traveling public,” read a statement from ODOT.

UPDATE @ 2:05 p.m.:

All lanes of northbound I-75 have reopened near Tylersville Road after crews worked to upright an overturned semi.

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Southbound lanes remain shut down. Officials said it will be hours before the highway will reopen.

UPDATE @ 1:12 p.m.:

All lanes of I-75 near Tylersville Road will be temporarily closed to upright an overturned tanker, according to West Chester Twp. Fire Chief Rick Prinz.

Both directions will closed for approximately 45 minutes to an hour, until about 2 p.m.

UPDATE @ 12:47 p.m.:

The highway could be shut down into the evening on I-75 south, according to Drew Reeder, West Chester Twp. spokesman.

A Columbus company was called in to determine the best way to deal with the ammonia on the tanker.

There are reportedly two options.

“Either way we’re looking at another two to six hours of closure,” Reeder reported. “[Fire Chief Rick Prinz] said if it does turn into a situation where they need to offload the ammonia they might be closed into the evening hours.”

The Red Cross brought food and water to first responders from West Chester Twp., Liberty Twp.  and Butler County Emergency Management Agency, according to Reeder.

UPDATE @ 12:23 p.m.:

Traffic on I-75 south is backed up to Middletown following a morning crash involving an overturned tanker and two other vehicles near Tylersville Road.

Motorists in the area are encouraged to take alternative routes.

There is a detour at Route 63 in Monroe near Cincinnati Premium Outlets.

A Germantown man heading to Lexington Friday said he had been stuck in traffic for an hour.

“Fun, fun fun,” Rick Heaberlin said. “Actually, right now I’m trying to get down to 129 so I can get around this mess.”

Ashley Rossing of Seven Mile said she’d been sitting in traffic for an hour and a half trying to get to Fairfield.

“We’ve been struck here, so it’s not very fun,” she said. “It’s inching every once in a great while, but it’s pretty much a parking lot.”

UPDATE @ 10:25 a.m.:

Two people were taken to an area hospital with minor injuries following the accident involving the tanker and two other vehicles.

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An Ohio State Patrol dispatcher said the truck driver and one person from another vehicle involved in the crash were taken to the hospital.

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The highway will be shut down for the foreseeable future.

“I have no idea when it’s going to get cleaned up,” the dispatcher said. “The tanker is across all lanes and it can’t be towed away until the ammonia is off-loaded onto another tanker, so that’s going to be a while.”

Southbound traffic is backed up beyond the Monroe exit so some drivers are being diverted back onto I-75 north across the median. Traffic on Ohio 129 east is also backing up as a result of the crash.

FIRST REPORT

A rollover crash involving a semi has blocked all southbound lanes of Interstate 75 in Butler County Friday morning.

The crash was first reported around 9:15 a.m. on I-75 South between Ohio 129 and Tylersville Road.

We’ll update this page as new details become available.