All lanes of Interstate 25 north of Colorado Springs are open after being closed for about 12 hours due to a massive fuel spill Wednesday morning.

Northbound lanes of the highway opened about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday and southbound lanes opened about 11:30 p.m. The Colorado State Patrol said earlier in the evening that the massive fuel spill caused the long delay to re-open the highway.

“The primary goal now is to keep the scene safe and to keep any motorists safe. Crews are truly working as quickly and safely as they can to get the interstate back open,” said Sgt. John Hahn, CSP spokesman.

A tanker carrying thousands of gallons of fuel was headed south on the interstate near Baptist Road just after 11 a.m. when it swerved to miss traffic that had stopped, Hahn said. The tanker hit a telephone pole and rolled onto the driver’s side.

The driver, 41-year-old Buck Herron of Clayton, N.M., was uninjured and cited for careless driving. The tanker belongs to Headwaters Trucking out of Amarillo, Texas.

An estimated 3,000 to 3,500 gallons of unleaded fuel gushed onto the interstate, Hahn said.

Initially, northbound traffic was allowed to continue past the crash scene, but emergency workers quickly shut it down to avoid any unintended sparks.

“Because of the incredibly large amount of gas that spilled, there was a great deal of fuel vapor in the air. Had there been some sort of ignition source, there was a possibility of a large fire,” Hahn said.

A driver heading to Vail around 5 p.m. described the interstate north of Colorado Springs as a “parking lot.” It took almost an hour to go about 5 miles, he said.

Drivers are encouraged to avoid the area and take alternate routes. The state Department of Transportation recommends northbound traffic use the Interquest Parkway exit and southbound traffic use Colorado 105 at Monument to Colorado 83.

In the coming days, State Patrol and CDOT will hire a hazardous materials contractor to complete the scene’s cleanup, Hahn said.

Click here to see the traffic-cam image taken at I-25 and Baptist Road.

A tanker truck carrying thousands of gallons of fuel rolled over on I-25 late Wednesday morning just south of Baptist Rd. The accident shut down the interstate in both directions until at least 9 p.m. on Wednesday evening. Crews brought in a second tanker to siphon out the gas that didn’t spill, so that the wreck could be moved. Wednesday, April 7, 2010. (The Gazette/Jerilee Bennett) Photo by JERILEE BENNETT, THE GAZETTE

Jerilee Bennett

Traffic on Interstate 25 near the Baptist Road exit. Photo by CITY OF COLORADO SPRINGS