Septic Truck Crash Injures Driver, Closes Notch Road
 A sewer tanker truck went off Notch Road in the Mount Greylock State Reservation, injuring the driver and closing the road on Monday. |
Update: Notch Road was opened a few days later.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A septic truck went over a guard rail and down an embankment on Monday afternoon, dumping an unknown amount of sewage off Notch Road. The crash closed the freshly paved road to the top of the state's highest peak.
The driver of the truck sustained injuries in the crash and was taken to North Adams Regional Hospital, according to state police; state police did not identify the driver but said the truck is owned by Berkshire Village Septic.
The accident occurred about a mile into the Mount Greylock State Reservation around 1 p.m. The driver was reportedly heading down the mountain with a full load when he went off the road. Traffic was being flagged off at the park's gate. State police and North Adams Ambulance Service were called to the scene.
Anne Roach, spokeswoman for the State Department of Conservation and Recreation, said the road would likely be closed for several days until the guard rail could be repaired. Roach said the spillage was minimal."They'll clean up what they need to do," said Roach. "There was damage to a guard rail that has to be repaired before the road can be opened. ... You don't want to not have a guard rail available on that road."
The roads to Mount Greylock were opened in May after a two years and $21 million in reconstruction. New steel guard rails were overlaid with wood to re-create the work done by the Civilian Conservation Corps on the peak 70 years ago.
Mount Greylock can be accessed from Rockwell Road in Lanesborough, where the park's visitor center is located.
