Highway 40 West to remain closed for unknown period after fatal tanker fire

Montreal's Highway 40 West will remain closed for an unknown period around St-Denis Street following yesterday's rush-hour explosion that left a truck driver dead and six other peoplewith minor injuries.

• 'He did everything he could':Hero tries to rescue truck driver from Highway 40 inferno

At a Wednesday afternoon news conference, Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre said it's unlikely the highway will be openin time forthe Thursday morning rush hour.

The results of testson the concrete on the stretch of highwaywhere the explosion occurred are expected within the next 12 hours, said Transport Minister Jacques Daoust.

The best case scenario, he said, would be that the highway reopens in the next two to three days, but nothing will be confirmed until the test results come in.

Quebec provincial police said the truck had been carrying 45,000 litres of diesel fuel when it collided with another truck.

The tanker truck's driver, Gilbert Prince, died in the ensuing explosion. He was 59.

Ministry of transport spokeswoman SarahBensadoun said there are no restrictions for truckson the highway.

• What happened?Scroll through the most dramatic photos and video

Four vehicles were involved in the crash.Crewsworked through the night to clean up the highway after firefighters used foam to put out the burning overpass in the wake of the explosion.

Policesay a vehicle was stopped on the highway before the crash. Investigators are trying to determine why the vehicle had been stoppedand whether charges of criminal negligence are warranted.

A tanker truck carrying diesel fuel exploded in rush-hour collision involving at least 4 vehicles

8 years ago

Duration 0:28

One man died and six people were injured in the accident, which caused a major fire that sent black smoke billowing over Montreal.

Inspecting the highway

Collision reconstructioninvestigators for the Sret du Qubecwrapped up their analysis of the scene Wednesday morningand turned itover to transport ministry inspectors, who are working to assess the structural damage to the elevated highway.

• VIDEO |Dramatic collision on Metropolitan kills 1, closes scene for inspection

Daoustsaid the damagedoes not appear to be too bad but they won't know for sure until engineers test the core of the structure.

There was concern about the expansion joints, but they appear to be OK, he said.

Bensadoun said oncethe charred wreckage of the tanker is removed, inspectors canget a better sense of both the damage to the roadway underneath and how long the highwaywill have to remain closed.

"We will not compromise safety and security of road users, so we will take the necessary time to work, inspectand finalize everything here," Bensadoun said.

Highway 40 East reopened

Highway 40 East was reopened Wednesday morning,and traffic resumedonCrmazieBoulevard East in both directions.

Montreal police are asking drivers to avoid the area if possible and use an alternate route to travelwest.

The city issued a detour map to help commuters.

An expert in civil engineering, Bruno Massicotte, who teaches at Polytechnique Montral, said he estimates it will take the government at least a few days to properly inspect the site.

He saidthe overpass was built with a series of tubes running through it to lighten the structure. He thinks these tubes may have been damaged.

"Did the combustible material go into those tubes? Was there fire heating them up?" he said during an interview with CBC'sFrench-language service Radio-Canada.

For updates, the city is advising commuters to check the Twitter feeds of the STMandMontral circulationas well as Montreal's Facebook page.

Response time criticisms dismissed

Opposition partyProjetMontreal criticized the city's emergency response time, saying it was inadequate and that the emergency response plan needs to be reviewed.

Coderreshot down those claims, saying officials began notifying the public about the accidentshortly after it occurred.

Coderre,Daoustand Public Security Minister MartinCoiteuxpraised the coordinated effort of provincial and municipal officials following the crash.

In a statement to Radio-Canada, the Parti Qubcois said itwantsthe government to undertakea comprehensive audit on the transportation of oil and hazardous materials, including the possibilityof creatingbypass routes for trucks transporting dangerous goods.

Daoustsaidwhile findingalternativeroutesfor trucks carrying dangerous cargois an issueto consider, the immediate priority is reopening the highway.

In a news release, CoalitionAvenirQuebec LeaderFranoisLegaultsaid while he understands people may be worried about the transportation of dangerous goods through Montreal, he will wait for the investigation into the crash to be finished before drawing conclusions.

Read more onthe Highway 40 accident and aftermath here:

• 'He did everything he could': Hero tries to rescue truck driver from Highway 40 inferno
• What happened?Scroll through the most dramatic photos and video
• VIDEO |Dramatic collision on Metropolitan kills 1, closes scene for inspection