Six-thousand gallons of spilled coconut oil made many in Central Florida late to work Monday.
A truck overturned and shut down the westbound lanes of Interstate 4 near State Road 408 causing delays and backups that lasted more than five hours.
Crews even had to clean up oil that spilled under the interstate.
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Once the sand and degreasing powder was put on the ground to soak up the oil, dumpsters were brought to haul it all away along with the truck that overturned.
The backup from the mess stretched for miles nearly six hours after the crash.
There were no reports on any injuries.
The delays seeped onto side roads where officers tried their best to make traffic lights change faster.
The Florida Department of Transportation if working on program to change the lights faster and remotely.
YIKES!! Turns out is was coconut oil that spilled on I-4 Westbound by the 408 interchange. Big clean-up underway pic.twitter.com/Af9a5nSIUn
— Racquel Asa (@RAsaWFTV) October 2, 2017
That way, instead of one officer changing the light at one intersection, the state can control a series of lights on a long stretch of road without having to be at a specific location.
The state said they’re still working on the program and there’s still no timeline on when they’ll have everything in place.
Even after the roadway is deemed safe and the road is opened, FDOT will continue to monitor the section of I-4 just in case any of the oil is left on the road.
Officials said they will also do something called “skid testing” on the pavement to make sure it’s not still slick from the oil.
Cox Media Group
