Environmental cleanup on Cornelius Pass continues

For Immediate Release: Monday, January 11, 2016

Traffic on Cornelius Pass Road, near Germantown Road, will continue to be impacted in the wake of a gasoline spill caused when a double tanker truck overturned Friday (Jan.8).

The southbound lane on Cornelius Pass Road, south of Germantown Road, will be flagger controlled for removal of contaminated material and repairs to the shoulder and ditch through Friday (Jan. 15), when the work is expected to be completed.

The tanker truck overturned into the west ditch after a crash with a pickup truck at about noon Friday (Jan. 8). Washington County Department of Land Use & Transportation and Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue responded promptly, and used booms and berms to contain the spill, keeping it from reaching nearby creeks and other water sources.

National Response Corp., the County's hazardous materials contractor, recovered 400 gallons of gasoline on Friday (Jan. 8) and the remaining 500 on Monday (Jan. 11). Absorbent pads and booms were used over the weekend to make sure the spill did not spread. County environmental staff; GeoDesign, the County's environmental response consultant; and the state Department of Environmental Quality were involved in developing the remediation plan.

Friday's accident was the second to occur on Cornelius Pass Road in a week. At about 3 p.m. Jan.6, a tanker carrying magnesium chloride, used as roadway anti-icing agent, overturned between U.S. 30 and Northwest Skyline Boulevard in Multnomah County.

Cornelius Pass Road is a designated freight route. Because trucks carrying hazardous materials cannot legally pass through the Highway 26 Vista Ridge Tunnel, many use Cornelius Pass Road as an alternate route.

Washington County is committed to planning, building and maintaining a great transportation system, ensuring the safety of all roadway users, and operating the County roadway system in a cost-effective and environmentally responsible manner.

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