LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The eastbound lanes of Interstate 64 reopened Wednesday evening after a tanker truck hauling gasoline overturned and spilled thousands of gallons of fuel during the Wednesday morning rush hour. 

It happened around 8:20 a.m., according to a news release from Louisville Metro Police, closing the highway for nearly 11 hours. Officers for LMPD's 8th Division responded to a call for service on a semi tractor trailer tanker that had overturned on I-64 at the Watterson Expressway overpass.

It happened during the Wednesday morning rush hour.

The overturned tanker was leaking fuel and blocking all lanes of I-64 East. Approximately 4,000 gallons of gasoline leaked from the tanker, but police said the leak had been contained as of 11:30 a.m. 

An outside company was called to the scene to cleanup the spilled fuel.

Just after 1 p.m. LMPD said — out of an abundance of caution by first responders — about 30 homes in the St. Regis Park community were being evacuated as a precaution as the gasoline is being transferred to another tanker. Officials believe there is not a hazard but wanted to take precautions as the gas is off-loaded. 

Homes impacted by the evacuation were visited by a Jeffersontown Fire or Louisville Fire and Rescue official in uniform.

A TARC bus was available as an evacuation site at the church Ascension Catholic Church. One nearby resident said his family evacuated to the TARC bus because his wife has a brain tumor and is in a wheel chair. He said his other neighbors left and went somewhere else.

"Luckily, with the bus here, all we had to do was put her in a wheelchair and push her up here," Hilton Fort said. "So it wasn't too hard."

Just before 2:30 p.m., LMPD said those residents were allowed to return home.

The cause of the crash is not known. The LMPD Traffic Unit is investigating.

EMS responded to the scene to check out the driver, but there was no update on any possible injuries. No other vehicles were involved.

Traffic was being rerouted off I-64 onto Cannons Lane and the Watterson while crews attempt to clean up and upright the tanker. The on-ramp from the I-264 WB to I-64 EB and I-264 EB on ramp to I-64EB is closed as well due to this incident.

Jefferson County Public Schools sent an alert to parents around 2 p.m. that "many" buses would be delayed as a result of the incident.

The roadway reopened as of 6:41 p.m.

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