A truck leaked 15 to 50 gallons of paraffin, closing a freeway on ramp for nearly a day as road crews failed in one cleanup method after another, state Transportation Department officials said.
The truck driver was alerted by another motorist about 6:35 a.m. Tuesday, stopped on the State Route 167 onramp in this suburb south of Seattle and found a cap was loose, department spokeswoman Meghan N. Soptich said.
Cleanup workers initially tried sanding an 8-foot-wide, 200-foot-long stretch of the ramp that was coated with a quarter-inch of paraffin.
That didn't work, nor did scattering dirt to absorb the wax or applying a degreaser.
Workers began making headway after bringing in a hot-water truck and equipment to vacuum the melted paraffin, but the effort stalled when the truck broke down.
Finally, after a second hot-water truck was summoned, the road was reopened shortly after midnight Wednesday.
