All lanes have reopened after a tanker explosion and large fire on Friday night forced the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet crews to close I-471 for repairs.
“This gives new meaning to Opening Day,” KYTC posted on Facebook Saturday. “As of 6:20 p.m., all lanes on I-471 have reopened to traffic following a fire.”
The fix, the post said, was a temporary measure to get the highway reopened.
“We’ll return in the spring to do a full resurfacing in the impacted area,” the post said.
The explosion occurred shortly after 10 p.m. on I-471 near Memorial Parkway after a vehicle and gas tanker crashed, prompting crews from Northern Kentucky and Ohio to respond.
The Campbell County Coroner’s Office posted on social media that all individuals involved in the crash are accounted for and that no one died. In a statement Saturday morning, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said there were minor injuries sustained in the crash and explosion.
KYTC’s Jake Ryle told WCPO 9 that crews will permanently fix the interstate sometime in the spring, as well as make repairs to the median barrier wall and highway sign on the Memorial Parkway overpass.
Ryle also said that the bridge inspectors found zero structural damage to the overpass, which reopened shortly after I-471.