Highway 401 was closed near Highway 8 in Cambridge for more than 12 hours after a transport truck filled with garbage caught fire early Thursday morning, according to OPP.
At around 11 p.m., a single lane had opened and by 4 p.m. the entire highway had reopened.
OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt says the truck caught fire at around 3 a.m. and that it could be a while before the road is reopened as Cambridge firefighters are still working to extinguish the blaze.
“Due to the ongoing fire, they are going to need to get into that load and spread outs it load, either onto the highway or someplace, to put out the fire completely so they can get it off the highway,” Schmidt said.
He says it would require an excavator to pull out the garbage, but the truck its
elf could also cause delays.
“The trailer tires are also burnt. We are not able to move the trailer until it is stabilized, and there are may be issues to the walls of the trailer as well,” Schmidt explained.
He says rubberneckers headed eastbound on Highway 401 also caused delays in the other direction.