New Brunswick highway to remain partly closed for days after spill, official says
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FREDERICTON – It will be a few more days until a southern New Brunswick highway can fully reopen after a tanker truck rolled over, spilling thousands of litres of fuel, a senior government official said on Monday.
The province’s deputy environment minister Charbel Awad told The Canadian Press that crews had contained the fuel spill, but there was still more work to do.
“We’re talking days … not weeks, for the road to be reopened,” Awad said, adding that he didn’t want to speculate on an exact timeline.
More than 36,000 litres of fuel spilled from the two-trailer truck when it rolled over on Route 1 near Nauwigewauk on April 8, according to emergency officials.
Part of the highway between Hampton and Quispamsis, about 30 kilometres north of Saint John, was initially shut down to all traffic.
Westbound lanes partially reopened Friday afternoon but eastbound lanes remained closed, with a detour in place.
Awad said a company the province identified as responsible for the spill had hired a third-party contractor to help with the cleanup, while the province provides oversight.
The cleanup crew is using vacuum trucks to suck up the fuel and is moving contaminated soil off-site, said Awad. Workers will then need to refill the excavated dirt.
The Environment Department visited 10 nearby homes that could potentially be affected by the spill and spoke to homeowners at seven of them, while leaving cards at three other homes where they were unable to speak to anyone.
Awad said his department is co-ordinating with the homeowners to have their wells tested and remediate any other potential impacts to their properties. Any work would be paid for by the responsible party, he said.
“The actual goal is to get the site back to the state it was in prior to the spill or the accident,” he added.
The company Awad named as the responsible party did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Canadian Press.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 13, 2026.