O'Neill Tunnel Reopened After Garbage Truck Fire Creates Traffic Mess

BOSTON (CBS) - A garbage truck fire shut down part of Interstate 93 in Boston for hours Thursday afternoon, backing up midday traffic for miles.

The truck caught fire inside the O'Neill Tunnel near Exit 20 around 1:20 p.m. and took hours to extinguish.

State Police diverted all traffic off at Exit 26. A MassDOT traffic camera captured the backup on I-93 around 2 p.m. Thursday.

State Police told commuters to avoid the area Thursday afternoon.

"It's a difficult fire to fight," said District Chief James Greene. "Not only is it confined in the trash container, but we're in the tunnel so it takes a little while to get the water down into the tunnel with the standpipe system."

There's no word yet what caused the fire or if anyone was hurt.

The truck was towed away shortly after 3 p.m. and two lanes were reopened to traffic.

More than four hours later, the fire was still smoldering in the back of the truck.

Crews used excavators to pull the trash out of the truck to fight the fire.