An oil spill caused emergency management and law enforcement officials to close down the southbound lanes of U.S. Highway 231 Tuesday from Walgreens to Auto Zone.

The spill was reported at approximately 10:20 a.m. Tuesday and emergency management officials were still working to clean the highway nearly five hours later.

“The liquid spilled was a mixture of oil and water, so because of the oil in the tank, no matter the quantity, it created a slick spot in the road,” said EMA Director Herbert Reeves. “So that had to be cleaned up via hazmat policies. We called in CDG, a company that is qualified to oversee the cleanup and the company that spilt the liquid, MECO, was there to assist. But CDG made sure it was done within the guidelines of (the Alabama Department of Environmental Management).”

Somewhere between 100 to 150 gallons of the liquid mixture was projected to spill out onto the roadway.

Reeves said the container holding the liquid came off of the trailer hauling it, causing the spillage.

Southbound traffic was diverted into the left northbound lane of U.S. Highway 231 for the stretch of road while officials cleaned up the mess.