Video: Truck crash, fire, hazmat incident shuts down bridge between Kentucky and Ohio

By Laura French

CINCINNATI — A truck collision that led to a fire and hazmat incident on a bridge connecting Cincinnati, Ohio, and Covington, Kentucky, may require traffic to be shut down for days, officials say. 

Covington police said that both sides of Interstate 71/75 and the Brent Spence Bridge will be closed "for an extended period of time" after a truck carrying 44 pounds of liquid potassium hydroxide collided with another truck on the lower deck of the bridge Wednesday morning, according to FOX 19. 

The crash sparked a fire that fully engulfed both vehicles and burned for more than two hours, officials say. The blaze caused damage to both the lower and upper decks of the bridge. 

Both truck drivers were able to leave their vehicles and were not injured, according to police. Covington police and fire personnel, Cincinnati fire personnel and Environmental Protection Agency officials remained at the scene to investigate and assess the damage. Engineers will be called to inspect the structural integrity of the bridge when it is safe to do so. 

According to the Ohio Department of Transportation, the Brent Spence Bridge over the Ohio River carries approximately 160,000 vehicles per day.