A portion of Interstate 70 in western Colorado could remain closed until 6:30 tonight after a butane tanker crashed this morning.
The Colorado Department of Transportation issued that word this afternoon, about three hours after the 9:30 a-m accident near DeBeque..
A tanker carrying about ten-thousand-700 gallons of butane was towing a ``pup'' tank with 73-hundred gallons of the fuel when the smaller tank rolled into the median.
The tank developed a six-to-12-inch jagged tear from two-to-four-inches wide.
Mesa County sheriff's spokeswoman Janet Prell says a hazardous materials team has to let the tank vent for five hours. That means cleanup can't start until about 2:30 p-m.
A 32-mile stretch of I-70 is closed west of Rifle. Eastbound I-70 is closed from Palisade to Rifle.
A nearby railroad and U-S Highway Six have reopened.
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