A major oil spill that stretches for over 40km along some of Hobart’s busiest roads has led to several crashes this morning.
Police are asking anyone who does not need to be on the road to ‘reconsider their need to travel’, with oil stretching from the Southern Outlet to the Midland Highway.
Starting on the Outlet about 2km before Mt Nelson (city bound), the spill continues to Macquarie Street, along the Brooker Highway to the Risdon Road area, through to Derwent Park Road, out to the Midland Highway, Pontville and to Mangalore.
Some lanes have been closed as emergency services respond to the spill.
One motorist told Pulse that despite going ‘very slow’, she lost control of her vehicle at the Bridgewater bridge roundabout and crashed into the guard rail.
“Luckily a man in a truck pulled up behind me to check on me,” she said.
“He said the same thing happened to him about 30 minutes earlier and he blocked off the road a bit so I [could] take off safely.”
No serious injuries have been reported from any of the crashes at this stage.
UPDATE 1:30PM: The spill has since been cleared. Motorists are asked to drive carefully and report any hazards to Police.
