The Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA) is assisting local police and fire departments after an overturned tanker truck forced the closure of westbound US 50 and two eastbound lanes. Crews estimate it make take up to five hours for the roadway to completely reopen. (Story posted at 7:20 am on November 14th, 2022)
Westbound US 50 is closed and detoured using MD 2 (Governor Ritchie Highway) through Arnold. Two right lanes are open on eastbound US 50 with the two left lanes remaining closed. MDOT SHA has notified its traffic signal operators to retime mainline traffic signals on the affected routes.
Crews are attempting to upright the tanker, tow it to another location and offload the diesel tanks, then burn off the contents (10,000 pounds of propane) of the truck. This will likely take several hours. If crews are unable to complete this operation at another location, they will undertake this process at the scene.
Maryland’s Move Over Law requires motorists to make a lane change or slow down when approaching any stopped, standing, or parked vehicle displaying hazard warning lights, road flares or other caution signals. The expanded law is in place to protect emergency responders and motorists who encounter a roadside emergency.
For a look at real-time traffic conditions, go to md511.maryland.gov.
