The Monday morning rush on the Edens Expressway turned into a slow-motion crawl on May 4, 2026, after a semi-truck leaking a corrosive chemical pulled over between Morton Grove and Skokie. The truck stopped just past the westbound entrance at Dempster Avenue, and emergency crews quickly shut the ramp to northbound I-94 while hazmat teams moved in to contain the spill. With lanes blocked and inbound drivers slowing to gawk, commuters in both directions were stuck in heavy backups.
What Spilled and How Crews Contained It
Illinois State Police identified the truck’s cargo as sodium bisulfate, a corrosive, acidic salt commonly used to lower pH in pools and industrial water systems, and said the trailer appeared to be leaking from the rear, according to CBS Chicago. By about 6:45 a.m., skywatch video and on-scene reporting showed fire crews and hazmat teams on the ground, dumping sand under the trailer and building makeshift dikes to keep the material from spreading.
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