A tanker truck, loaded with 8,800 gallons of gasoline, overturned and exploded, on the Memorial Day. The maintenance crews began to repair the pavement between Eastbound 91 and the Southbound 71 , to facilitate the opening of other lanes to Eastbound 91 traffic. The emergency repairs were carried out using Roklin Systems Inc.'s FlexSet product, for a quick and long-lasting repair.

Lake Forest, CA -- (SBWire) -- 06/30/2010 -- A tanker truck exploded and closed one of Southern California's busiest freeways for more than eight hours, creating havoc for hundreds of thousands of commuters and motorists trying to start their Memorial Day weekend. Starting about 10:30 a.m., traffic backed up for miles in Riverside, Orange and San Bernardino counties after the truck, loaded with 8,800 gallons of gasoline, overturned and was left to burn in the eastbound lanes of the 91 Freeway in Corona.

According to CHP dispatcher Jon Twenty, a total of six cars were involved in the wreck that cut off one of the only arteries between Orange and Riverside counties. Caltrans maintenance crews set up emergency closures on the Eastbound 91 and the Southbound 71 leading onto the 91. A multi-agency command post was established and the group decided to let the nearly 9,000 gallons of gasoline burn itself out.Once the tanker had burned itself out damage assessment and clean up began. After the crew determined that the wreckage was cooled down by placing water on it, wreckers moved in to remove the large debris.

Next HazMat and Caltrans maintenance crews moved in to clean up and expose the pavement underneath all the burnt debris. Maintenance divisions set up immediate emergency response for traffic control and delivered lighting equipment in case repairs lasted until nighttime. Once the fire was out and before all debris was removed maintenance crews began to repair the outside edge of the pavement in the #3 lane in order to expedite the opening of other lanes to Eastbound 91 traffic. The westbound 91 lanes - heading toward Orange County - reopened shortly before 3 p.m.There was significant damage with spalling from 3" to 5" deep extending quite a distance. Once the initial clean up was performed Maintenance staffing began the emergency repairs using Roklin Systems Inc.'s FlexSet product.

FlexSet is designed for quick and long-lasting concrete repair. FlexSet buckets were mixed up and applied, filling in the damaged area quickly. The damaged concrete repairs were completed and cured by 8:20 PM and all lanes were opened to traffic at approximately 8:50 PM.The 91 is one of the most congested highways in Southern California . It is also the only major corridor available between Orange and Riverside counties. During the typical workweek, motorists make more than 300,000 trips a day on the freeway - a flow mostly heading west in the morning and east for the evening commute.