MECKLENBURG COUNTY, Va. – The Danville Fire Department’s hazmat team responded to a propane tanker accident Wednesday after the rig overturned on I-85 near the Virginia and North Carolina state line.

Northbound lanes of Interstate 85 were closed for hours Wednesday near the North Carolina-Virginia border after a truck carrying a 10,000 gallon propane tank overturned. The road was closed between Exit 233 for U.S. Highway 1, near the Virginia state line, and Lake Gaston in North Carolina.

While the propane was not leaking from the wreckage, officials decided to close that portion of the highway because the removal process creates a potential safety issue for traffic.

The wreck happened around 5:40 a.m. on the northbound side of I-85 near Mile Marker 1 in Mecklenburg County. State police said the tractor-trailer ran off the road and overturned in the median strip.

The rig was carrying approximately 10,000 gallons of propane. The propane had to be pumped from the wrecker tanker and into another tanker before it could safely be removed from the highway median. That was done but the process took several hours.

Danville’s hazmat crew is a state team that covers a wide area of Virginia for hazardous materials response.