It has been more than six months since a fuel tanker truck overturned around a sharp bend in Glen Rose and dumped approximately 5,000 gallons of diesel and gasoline onto the road and a piece of private property.
But problems with the cleanup and restoration of the property have lingered long after city officials had imagined.
“The saga continues,” City Administrator Chester Nolen said with a sigh when asked to discuss the ongoing process in the 300 block of East Elm Street, three blocks east of the downtown square. “It’s kind of made a mess out of things.”
The spill occurred on October 6, 2016 and prompted an immediate evacuation of people who live in the immediate area.
Since that time, tons of contaminated soil has been excavated and hauled away from the site – an estimated 200 dump truck loads worth, according to the Glen Rose Reporter.
For several months, what had been the side yard and semicircular driveway of the homeowner sat as a massive hole in the ground that was nearly 20-feet deep in places.
Randy Barber lives beside the property and has watched the work with great interest.
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“[It is] pretty much a mess. It’s taking them forever to get it done,” Barber said.
Recently, a contractor brought in several loads of dirt to fill in the hole. But, according to City Administrator Nolen the work was not done compacted properly and is therefore susceptible to sinking once the dirt settles.
According to the Glen Rose Reporter, City Council voted 4-0 at an emergency meeting on March 29 to approve finding a new contractor to complete, and possibly redo the work.
Within the last week the homeowners hired an attorney to represent their interests in an attempt to reach a settlement with the tanker truck company, Expressway Transport, LLC out of Waco.
The attorney, Michael Goldman of Dallas, told NBC DFW he has just begun a conversation with representatives of the company and is satisfied with their response. He indicated, however, that he is prepared to file suit in Somervell County if the terms of any proposed settlement are not in his client’s best interest.
