Usually the most traffic Vermonters encounter is during leaf peeping season, but on February 6, there was an unexpected holdup on I-91 in Newport. It wasn’t caused by foliage, an accident, a storm or even construction. In this case, a portion of the highway was due to a maple syrup spill.
Driving in Vermont has never been sweeter… Literally!
On February 6, 2017 a 42-gallon drum of maple syrup came dislodged from a pickup truck and spilled onto Highway I-91.
Flickr/Marcus Balcher
At 4:20 p.m., the syrup spilled on the highway and the mess was so large that a portion of the highway was closed.
Flickr/Derek Bruff
The Vermont State Police showed up on the scene and called the fire department to assist in cleaning up this sticky situation.
Facebook/Vermont State Police
The syrup was cleaned up in about 20 minutes by putting sand on the syrup so it could be scooped up.
Facebook/Sugar and Spice
No maple syrup survived the tragic accident.
Flickr/LadyDragonflyCC - >;<
Most of the syrup ended up in the snow on the side of the road. Just think of all the sugar on snow that could have made!
Flickr/Poom!
So how much liquid gold was lost in this spill? Well, let’s do a few calculations…
Flickr/butforthesky.com
It takes roughly 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of maple syrup. A 42 gallon drum of syrup took 1,620 gallons of sap to make. Please Note: the number of gallons depends on the grade.
Flickr/Putneypics
How much would that cost?
Flickr/ ckowalik The price for a gallon of pure VT maple syrup is $56 at The Sugar Shack. A 42 gallon drum holds roughly $2,352 worth of syrup. Please note the price per gallon is an estimate and based on the grade and retailer.
How much time was lost?
Flickr/The B’s It’s hard to say as it depends on factors such as the size of the evaporator used. The sizes could be anything from 2 feet x 6 feet and a capacity of 25 gallons per hour, to 6 feet x 18 feet and a capacity of 380 gallons per hour.
Does all this talk about maple syrup have you craving pancakes? Check out these 13 Vermont restaurants that serve pancakes to die for.
Flickr/Marcus Balcher
Flickr/Derek Bruff
Facebook/Vermont State Police
Facebook/Sugar and Spice
Flickr/LadyDragonflyCC - >;<
Flickr/Poom!
Flickr/butforthesky.com
Flickr/Putneypics
Flickr/ ckowalik
The price for a gallon of pure VT maple syrup is $56 at The Sugar Shack. A 42 gallon drum holds roughly $2,352 worth of syrup. Please note the price per gallon is an estimate and based on the grade and retailer.
Flickr/The B’s
It’s hard to say as it depends on factors such as the size of the evaporator used. The sizes could be anything from 2 feet x 6 feet and a capacity of 25 gallons per hour, to 6 feet x 18 feet and a capacity of 380 gallons per hour.
OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article.
