Snowy conditions along Interstate 295 caused about 20 accidents between Falmouth and Brunswick during the morning commute Friday.

Maine State Police shut down the highway for about an hour at Exit 17 northbound, where many of the accidents occurred, in order to get salt on the road, said Trooper Justin Cooley.

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Emergency personnel work on an oil tanker truck Friday after it slid off the Maine Turnpike around mile marker 28 southbound in Arundel. Maine State Police photo

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The highway reopened before 9:45 a.m.

Cooley said there were no serious injuries and the situation was “just a mess.”

State police said all the I-295 slideoffs were caused by drivers going too fast for conditions, according to Maine Public Safety spokesman Steve McCausland.

Two crashes also slowed traffic on the Maine Turnpike Friday morning.

One crash was reported shortly after 8 a.m. between Exit 53 in Falmouth and Exit 63 in Gray. The right northbound lane was blocked by emergency vehicles and drivers were told to expect delays, according to the turnpike authority. No other details about the crash were immediately available.

Around mile marker 28 southbound in Arundel, a pickup truck was attempting to pass an oil truck at around 8:30 a.m. when the two vehicles collided and ran off the road, said Trooper Kevin Rooney. Both vehicles ended up off the southbound lane into the tree line.

The driver of the pickup is Scott Stone, 48, of Rowley, Massachusetts, and the tractor trailer operator is Glenn Martin, 57, of Buckfield. Both drivers had minor injuries and were treated at Southern Maine Medical Center in Biddeford, McCausland said.

There was some minor fuel leakage from the tractor trailer’s fuel tank, but not from the tanker portion.

Staff Writer Leslie Bridgers contributed to this story.

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