Chaos as tractor-trailer spills Alfredo sauce all over highway

Memphis was hit by sheer chaos after a tractor-trailer full of creamy Alfredo sauce spilled all over a busy highway, leaving several lanes closed and huge delays. 

The trailer crashed on the I-55 – a major Interstate Highway in the central United States - near McLemore Avenue in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee. 

All three southbound lanes at exit 11 were forced to close as the cleanup operation took place, with cars having to use the hard shoulder to chug past at a snail’s pace. 

Watch footage of the spillage here:

The sauce had even spilled over onto the other side of the highway, meaning that two northbound lanes also had to be closed. 

According to the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT), the crash was reported at around 4.44pm, while Memphis Police said one woman was taken to hospital in a non-critical condition. 

ABC24’s Danielle Moss reported on the incident live, saying it was a ‘sight that you need to see’, with TDOT cameras showing the highway covered in white sauce as northbound travellers passed by slowly through the hard shoulder - and TDOT crews attempting to clear the unexpected spillage.

TDOT/ABC

“The Alfredo sauce is everywhere," Moss said, explaining that the road was closed from exit 11 on McLemore Avenue and, as a result, traffic was ‘very, very slow’. 

She continued: “The Alfredo sauce actually spilled over into the northbound lane, that’s why there’s only one lane going there. About five minutes ago, there was two lanes open, but you can see they have closed that off. 

“There’s a bulldozer trying to clean this stuff up, the police on the scene, the TDOT Hero trucks are on the scene, so it’s definitely a big, big problem.” 

TDOT/ABC

Moss said a ‘major cleanup’ was involved, meaning there were ‘big backups’ for everyone – whether they were heading into Memphis or leaving the city. 

She added that the tractor had 'hit the medium' but it was still unknown whether there was still plans to close I-55 roads later that night.

And just a few days ago (29 August), another highway in Vacaville, California was forced to close after a truck carrying tons of tomatoes crashed, covering the roads in slippery tomato sauce.

Well, this certainly given Birmingham's Spaghetti Junction a run for its money... Badum-tshhh.

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