Coal truck accident, spill shuts Hwy 61

A semi truck carrying coal overturned on Highway 61 near Newport, Minnesota early Tuesday.

The northbound lanes of the highway were closed during rush hour as crews worked to clean up the mess.

The accident occurred near the junction with Interstate 494 shortly after 6 a.m., said Kevin Gutknecht, spokesperson for the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

The truck also spilled a large amount of some kind of petroleum product onto the road.

Traffic is being detoured onto Interstate 494.

The agency estimated the cleanup time at about 8 a.m. to be about three hours.

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