***UPDATE**One Lane of I-70 Westbound at Norwich now Open ***UPDATE***

***UPDATE***6:25 a.m. — One lane of I-70 westbound at Norwich has reopened to traffic — ***UPDATE***

The Muskingum County Emergency Management Agency says part of I-70 is closed after an accident.  E-M-A Director Jeff Jadwin says a semi-tractor trailer carrying 30-thousand pounds of truck batteries caught on fire early just before midnight Monday.

Jadwin says the cargo is considered hazardous material due to the sulfuric acid inside the batteries, which spilled onto the roadway.  The Ohio Department of Transpiration has closed I-70 westbound at the Norwich Exit.  Traffic will be detoured on to US 40.

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has also been called to the scene to oversee the clean-up.  Jadwin says the highway is expected to remain closed through morning rush-hour. There were no injuries reported.

The Zanesville Post of the Highway Patrol says the driver of the truck is identified as 31-year-old Kipianai Anri of Brooklyn, New York.