By Gina Morton
WINFIELD — Between 30 and 40 gallons of a tar-like road substance was spilled on the two Route 15 southbound lanes and caused a traffic backup for almost an hour Tuesday.
Derick Shambach, Snyder County Emergency Management Agency coordinator, said a Fairchild Bros. Inc. car buggy carrying tack coat — a substance used to seal cracks in roads or put on black top — overturned and dumped the substance in the southbound lanes at the top of the Winfield hill just south of the Union-Snyder county line.
Both lanes were shut down just south of County Line Road, while employees of Northridge Group Inc., of Northumberland, cleaned up the mess.
“They work in Oil-Dri by sweeping it with a power broom,” Shambach said. The product acts as an absorbent for the spilled material.
Motorists originally were backed up for about 40 minutes before officials were able to redirect traffic, he said. The backup reached almost to Lewisburg. He said it would take almost three hours to clean up the spill.
During the cleanup, southbound traffic was detoured into the Route 15 northbound passing lane, and northbound traffic was restricted to one lane.
Fairchild Bros. is based near Winfield, just north of the spill area.
