Update: Eastbound I-580 Fast Lane Reopens After Forklift, Oil Slick Cleared

Bay City News — All lanes of eastbound Interstate Highway 580 in the Dublin area are once again clear after crews worked for several hours to scrub the roadway of an oil slick left by a forklift that fell off a truck this
evening.

California Highway Patrol Officer Kevin Bartlett said that at 4:36
p.m. the CHP received a report of a forklift blocking the fast lane of
eastbound I-580 just north of the interchange with northbound I-680.

Initial reports indicated that the machinery fell from the bed of
a big-rig after the 1998 three-axle truck crashed into the center divider,
Bartlett said. No other vehicles were involved in the crash.

The driver of the big-rig sustained minor injuries, including a laceration to the head, Bartlett said.

The CHP issued a Sig-alert at 4:46 p.m. indicating that traffic was expected to be slow through the area.

Although the forklift was righted relatively quickly, tow crews
discovered a pool of oil beneath the machinery and called in Caltrans crews
to address the slick hazard before reopening the lane, Officer Peter Van
Eckhardt said.

"It just kind of drained its crankcase when it was on its side," he said.

Caltrans crews used an absorbent material called dry sweep to sop
up the mess, which was swept into a container, Van Eckhardt said.

"It's kind of like kitty litter almost," he said.

Crews had the scene cleared shortly before 8 p.m., when the Sig-alert was lifted and the fast lane reopened.