SAUGATUCK, Mich. (WOOD) — The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy says cleanup work has started nearly a month after a crash on I-196 led to a large spill of plastic pellets into the Kalamazoo River and nearby wetlands.
The cleanup work will require the Michigan Department of Transportation to shut down a stretch of northbound I-196 on Thursday night to collect the bulk of the roadside spill and repair a damaged guardrail.
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The crash happened on Jan. 27 near the south end of the I-196 bridge over the Kalamazoo River. EGLE says up until this latest thaw, the snow largely covered the extent of the spill which is now estimated to be several thousand pounds.
The pellets are scattered across a stretch of at least four miles along the shoulder of the freeway. Some of the pellets that made it into the river sank, but some are still floating…