NORWICH – Hale Street to Halfway House Road off Route 12, just south of the City of Norwich, were shut down Tuesday due to a sizable acidic waste chemical spill.

The approximately three-mile stretch of road was closed for nearly four hours while emergency crews cleaned up the spill caused by a southbound truck carrying the chemical.

“The truck off to the side spilled caustic chemicals all the way down the road. There was a huge spill which has gone into the storm drain,” said Norwich Fire Chief Tracy Chawgo.

Many local businesses affected by the shutdown of Route 12 were concerned about how long the incident would take to clean up and were contemplating closing for the afternoon.