Tanker spill cleanup and roadway repair along Highway 38 near Drain


This is the most current information about DEQ’s response efforts along Highway 38, where near milepost 45 about six miles west of Drain.

See current update.

QUICK FACTS
Date of incident: June 7, 2023
Location: Milepost 45 on Highway 38
Product: Diesel and gasoline
Cause: Tanker crash
Unified Command: DEQ, ODOT and Western Hyway Oil

Status Updates

June 16, 2:30 p.m.

ODOT reported that Highway 38 was fully reopened Friday afternoon.

The roadway had been partially closed since June 7, when a tanker truck overturned and spilled fuel. Along with the cleanup being complete, the roadway has been repaved.

Road crews pave a portion of Highway 38 near Drain on June 15, 2023, as roadway repairs following a June 7 crash and spill near an end. Photo courtesy ODOT
Road crews pave a portion of Highway 38 near Drain on June 15, 2023, as roadway repairs following a June 7 crash and spill near an end. Photo courtesy ODOT

June 12, 3:45 p.m.

The cleanup is complete, DEQ reported on Monday, but roadwork will continue this week along Highway 38 where a tanker crashed last Wednesday.

Cleanup crews removed about 6,000 tons of contaminated soil.

Go to tripcheck.com for the latest on the highway status.

Crews repair the roadway along Highway 38 near Drain on Monday, June 12, 2023, following a tanker crash and spill on June 8. The roadwork slowed traffic along the highway. Photo courtesy ODOT

June 9, 3:45 p.m.

Cleanup crews removed more than 1,856 tons of soil on Thursday. Excavation at the site of the tanker spill continued Friday and is expected to continue through the weekend.

June 8, 11:15 a.m.

The ongoing cleanup of a fuel tanker spill along Highway 38, about six miles west of Drain, will slow traffic for at least a week.

A tanker carrying gasoline and diesel crashed close to milepost 45 shortly after 6 a.m. Wednesday. DEQ is leading the cleanup and estimates that 1,247 gallons of diesel and 771 gallons of gasoline spilled in the crash.

Go to tripcheck.com for the latest on the highway lane closures.

See the full news release from DEQ and ODOT.

Fuel spills from a tanker that crashed on June 7, 2023, along Highway 38, about six miles west of Drain. Photo courtesy of ODOT
A tanker that crashed and spilled fuel along Highway 38 on June 7, 2023. Photo courtesy of ODOT

Information on this site is considered to be accurate at the time of posting but is subject to change as new information becomes available.

Media contacts

Dylan Darling, DEQ Western Region public affairs specialist, dylan.darling@deq.oregon.gov, 541-600-6119

Julie Denney, ODOT southwestern Oregon region public information officer, julie.denney@odot.oregon.gov, 503-949-2366​

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