KANSAS CITY, MO — A crash involving hazardous materials shut down both directions of Interstate 29 in northwestern Missouri for much of Thursday after a tractor-trailer overturned near mile marker 80 in Holt County. The Missouri State Highway Patrol said the wreck triggered a hazmat response, forced nearby residents from their homes and sent three people to the hospital.
By Thursday evening, officials said both the northbound and southbound lanes had reopened. The patrol said the southbound lanes were cleared later in the day after the roadway had remained blocked for hours, while northbound traffic reopened earlier. Crews continued working at the scene as investigators and cleanup teams dealt with the cargo inside the overturned tanker.
Troopers say a tanker carrying sulfuric acid and nitroglycerin jackknifed before another vehicle hit it
According to Sgt. Shane Hux, a Missouri State Highway Patrol spokesman, troopers were called to the scene around 1:51 a.m. Thursday on southbound I-29. Hux said a tractor-trailer hauling 4,000 pounds of sulfuric acid suspended with nitroglycerin jackknifed and overturned, leaving the trailer blocking the southbound lanes.
The patrol said another vehicle then struck the overturned trailer. Officials later confirmed the crash involved two vehicles. The highway was closed in both directions soon after the wreck, and troopers warned drivers to avoid the area while emergency crews assessed the scene and began handling the hazardous cargo.
Residents near the rural crash site were evacuated as a precaution
Buchanan County Emergency Coordinator Bill Brinton said houses in the nearby rural area were evacuated after the wreck. About 30 residents were moved out of their homes as a precaution while crews evaluated the danger posed by the material in the trailer.
Those residents were allowed to return home around 2:30 p.m. Thursday, Hux said. The evacuation underscored how quickly a highway crash can affect people who live nearby, especially when the cargo includes hazardous material that requires specialized handling before traffic and homes can be considered safe again.
Three people were hospitalized, with injuries ranging from minor to potentially moderate
Three people were taken to hospitals after the collision. Hux said the driver and a passenger in the semi suffered minor injuries. The driver of the other vehicle had potentially moderate injuries, according to the patrol.
Officials did not immediately provide further details about the patients’ conditions or where they were treated. The crash created a complex response because it involved both injury care and the risk posed by the tanker’s contents, forcing responders to balance roadway recovery with medical transport and scene safety.
Cleanup crews from Missouri and Kansas City company joined the highway patrol response
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources responded to the scene along with Clean Harbors Environmental and Industrial Services, a Kansas City, Missouri, company that works on environmental cleanup. Brinton said the response became a multi-agency effort as crews worked to deal with the hazardous material inside the overturned tanker.
The Holt County Sheriff’s Office said specialized equipment was needed to offload the material from the trailer. That requirement made the cleanup more complicated and left officials unable to say quickly when the interstate would reopen. By Thursday afternoon, detours were still in place and the closure remained an active incident.
Detours sent drivers through Mound City and other routes while schools canceled classes
The Missouri State Highway Patrol and Missouri Department of Transportation directed drivers to detours while I-29 remained closed. Northbound traffic was routed off at mile marker 75 to U.S. Highway 59 and then on to Mound City before rejoining the interstate. Southbound drivers were told to leave at Missouri Route 118 in Mound City, head west to Route 111, then continue south on U.S. Highway 159 and reenter I-29 at mile marker 79.
The patrol also offered an alternate northbound route using U.S. Highway 71 from mile marker 56. The rerouting affected daily travel enough that Mound City R-2 canceled classes Thursday, saying the uncertainty around transportation for students and staff made a normal school day impossible.
Officials said late Thursday that it was still unknown how long the closure would last, even after both directions of the interstate reopened. The incident remained a major traffic and emergency response event in Holt County throughout the day.