New Brunswick official says highway to remain partly closed for days after spill

A senior New Brunswick government official says it will take a few more days before a partially closed highway in the southern part of the Atlantic province can be reopened.

Deputy environment minister Charbel Awad says cleanup workers have contained a fuel spill from a tanker truck rollover on April 8, but haven’t finished the job.

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Awad says the shipping company involved in the incident has hired contractors to manage the cleanup.

But he couldn’t provide a specific timeline for the reopening.

Route 1 about 30 minutes north of Saint John was closed after the truck rolled over and spilled 36,000 litres of fuel.

Westbound lanes partially reopened Friday afternoon but eastbound lanes remained closed, with a detour in place.

The deputy minister adds his department is co-ordinating with 10 potentially impacted nearby homeowners to have their wells tested, among other remediation efforts.