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Delaware Memorial Bridge Reopened After Gas Leak

Delaware Memorial Bridge
creative commons
Delaware Memorial Bridge

PENNSVILLE, N.J. (AP) - the Delaware Memorial Bridge that was shutdown by a gas leak has been reopened in both directions.
The Delaware Department of Transportation tweeted late Sunday that the bridge was "REOPENED to traffic" and urged travelers to drive safely.
The Delaware River and Bay Authority tweeted earlier in the day that the leak stemmed from a chemical facility near the twin suspension bridges that are a major connector between Washington, D.C., and New York City.
A fire company official working the chemical leak that forced the bridge to shut down said if the flume "would have had an ignition source it could have been catastrophic."
Holloway Terrace Fire Company Public Information Officer George Greenley says the leaked chemical is ethylene oxide, a highly flammable gas that is a finished product stemming from methanol.

 

Don Rush is the News Director and Senior Producer of News and Public Affairs at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.