A truck and trailer accident spilled over 120 gallons of fuel onto the roadway of the Dolphin Expressway Saturday morning, forcing the closure of the westbound lanes of that highway in Miami-Dade County, Florida, as confirmed by authorities from Miami Fire Rescue (MFR).
Rescue teams received the report of the incident and responded shortly after 8:30 in the morning, according to the agency.
They immediately deployed their specialized hazardous materials unit to contain the spill and prevent the fuel from spreading further along the roadway.
"The MFR teams responded to the spill shortly after 8:30 a.m. and activated their hazmat equipment to contain the spill and prevent further runoff," authorities specified, as reported by Local10.
The authorities warned that the affected lanes would remain closed for several hours while workers cleaned up the spilled fuel and removed the overturned truck from the roadway.
No information was provided regarding the exact location of the incident on the highway or the precise number of blocked lanes.
No injuries were reported as a result of the accident, which was the only positive aspect of an incident that caused significant disruptions to traffic on one of the busiest roads in South Florida.
The Dolphin Expressway (SR 836) is approximately 15.3 miles long and serves as the main east-west corridor of Miami-Dade County.
It connects the western suburbs, such as Tamiami and Sweetwater, with Miami International Airport, downtown, and I-95, and on its eastern end links to I-395 towards Miami Beach via the MacArthur Causeway. Even a partial closure results in significant impacts on traffic flow throughout the metropolitan area.
Accidents involving fuel spills on the highways of Miami-Dade have become recurrent in recent months. In January of this year, a fatal accident on the Dolphin Expressway forced the closure of westbound lanes near NW 57th Avenue, with the Florida Highway Patrol overseeing the investigation.
In April, a overturned semi-trailer on the Florida Turnpike in Broward County spilled over 50 gallons of fuel and caused similar closures for hours. And in February 2025, a fuel truck that lost gasoline on a Miami highway created a comparable scenario, with blocked lanes and hazmat teams in action.
This type of incident triggers the response protocols of Miami Fire Rescue, the fire and rescue agency of the county responsible for containing hazardous material spills on highways to prevent environmental risks and road safety hazards.
At the time the news was published, the cleaning efforts were still ongoing and it had not been specified when all lanes would be restored.
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