By Don Pritchard, photos courtesy Ste. Genevieve County Sheriff’s Office
STE. GENEVIEVE – An evacuation that has affected around 100 rural Ste. Genevieve County residents has ended.
Ste. Genevieve County Emergency Management Director Felix Meyer announced shortly after 4 p.m. Tuesday that the evacuated residents of Sawmill Road could go home. Later it was announced that the remaining evacuees who live on Route C and Hennick Road were also free to return home.
Meyer said the trailer with the attached tank containing phosphorus trichoride was then sitting upright and was waiting a Missouri State Highway Patrol inspection so it could be transported.
The incident began when a truck towing the trailer and tank ran off Route C Monday morning. Fortunately there was no leakage from the tank at the time, but officials were worried a spill might occur while the tank and trailer were being removed. That’s what prompted the evacuation of nearby residents and the closing of the roads in the area.
A hazmat team from Festus was called to the scene. The team worked Monday and Tuesday and was able to remove the cab of the truck and gain access to the tank containing the chemical. The tank was still attached to its trailer and the team lifted both from the side of the road and placed it on the pavement. The Missouri State Highway Patrol then inspected the trailer and tank and said they were road-worthy.
Authorities report all of the affected streets and roads have reopened, with the exception of Route C which needs repair where the crash happened. MoDOT will be doing the repair and then it will reopen as well.