Saugus town manager calls for waste transport review following Rt. 1 wreck

SAUGUS – Town Manager Andrew Bisignani said he would like to see “at the very least a review of the policies and procedures concerning the transportation of hazardous waste through residential communities,” after a gasoline truck accident claimed the life of the truck’s driver, forced the evacuation of more than 120 residents and shut down parts of Route 1 for more than 24 hours.He also noted that Saturday’s early-morning accident could have been much worse.”It shows our vulnerability,” said Bisignani. “Route 1 is a very important corridor. Imagine if that had happened during rush hour. If that truck went off on the other side of the road, it would have been a much, much greater loss of property and life.”The cause of the fiery accident, which took the life of 59-year-old truck driver Neal Michaud, is still under investigation, according to Saugus Fire Chief James Blanchard.But Blanchard said it would be hard to prevent an accident like this from happening again.”If they could widen Route 1, I think that would help,” said Blanchard. “But I don’t think that’s possible with all the businesses and homes along the way.”Blanchard said that area of Route 1 is notoriously tricky to navigate, with exit and entrance ramps for Essex Street and Route 99 converging near the overpass where the accident occurred.”It’s narrow to begin with and you have traffic coming into Route 1 from 99 in the passing lane,” said Blanchard.Saugus selectman and state Rep. Donald Wong said certain hazardous materials are restricted on Route 1, but not gasoline, and an investigation into the accident must be completed before any recommendations can be made.”The thing we’re looking at now ? is to find out if he was speeding or if he was sleepy or did someone cut him off,” said Wong. “This is what we have to find out. Going toward the overpasses Route 1 gets narrower. Was that a cause of something? Let’s find out why it happened before we start jumping to conclusions or making laws that don’t have anything to do with it.”Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Joe Ferson said the fire consumed most of the 11,000 gallons of gasoline that spilled after the wreck.Crews worked Monday to clean out Penny Brook, which turned into a river of fire Saturday morning after gas that spilled into storm drains overflowed and ignited.Ferson said DEP crews recovered approximately 300 gallons of gas from the tanker after the fire was extinguished, while another 200 gallons were excavated from surrounding soil and about 50-100 gallons were recovered from storm drains and the brook.”There doesn’t appear to be any long-term environmental impact,” said Ferson. “But there is ongoing monitoring of the site as well as Penny Brook and storm drains. We’ll continue to check on those periodically especially after rainfalls to make sure any emulsified product in the drains doesn’t rinse out and present a problem.”Penny Brook meanders north along Vine Street and then cuts east along Winter Street before flowing into the Saugus River near the Lynn line.Ferson said air quality in the area rebounded “fairly quickly” after the fire as DEP officials used hand-held instruments to detect any volatile compounds in the air.Allan Huberman, the fourth generation owner of M. Huberman Inc. on Vine Street, will likely lose most of his stock of flowers after the center portion of his greenhouse burned to the ground.The extreme heat in the greenhouse caused most of the plants to wilt and die, while the banks of Penny Brook, which runs along the back of the nursery, were charred black. Piles of burned cinder blocks sat in a heap next the brook as the rear portion of the building collapsed in the fire.Brad York, the owner of York Ford on Route 1, said it was a “lost weekend” for his business as work crews closed Route 1 to clear the wreckage and repair the damaged roadway. But, he said, he still has a lot to be thankful for.”For me it was just an inconvenience,” said York. “I just feel terrible for th