Houston traffic: North Freeway hazmat cleanup complete, but outbound traffic still slow, TxDOT says

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A hazmat incident that was feared to have blocked the outbound North Freeway into the Monday evening commute has been cleaned up, the Texas Department of Transportation said.

Multiple lanes of northbound I-45 North Freeway were blocked between West Road and Aldine Bender, Texas Department of Transportation tweeted at 2:19 p.m.

TxDOT told that it wasn’t the result of a crash, but had the potential to take three to four hours to clear.

“This will impact the evening rush,” TxDOT tweeted earlier.

In an update tweeted just after 4:15 p.m., officials said crews completed cleanup and were working to open lanes. They cautioned, though, that traffic remained backed up well south of the location and urged travelers to seek an alternate route.

For those who need to continue onto I-45 past the slowdown, some alternates you could take are outbound Hardy Toll Road and northbound Eastex Freeway to the westbound Beltway.

As for the cause, officials said a truck was carrying diesel exhaust fluid, or DEF, when it had to brake, sending the load to shift and spill onto the roadway.