A stretch of Highway 17 in the Laurentian Hills is temporarily closed after a tractor-trailer rolled on its side and spilled its load of powdered nickel onto the road.
The crash occurred on the highway between Brouse Road and Bass Lake Road – outside Deep River, north of Petawawa – close to 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) reported.
The truck driver was not injured and the spilled nickel does not pose any public safety concerns, Cst. Shawn Peever, a constable with the Upper Ottawa Valley OPP detachment, said in a brief phone interview.
The affected part of Highway 17 has been closed to traffic in both directions, Peever confirmed. Drivers in the area will have to use local detours that have been set up while crews remove the truck and clean up the nickel.
The roadway is expected to be closed until late Wednesday afternoon.
Anyone who may have witnessed the collision is asked to contact OPP at 613-735-0188.