L’Observateur Staff Report

NORCO – A portion of Airline Drive in St. Charles Parish was shut down late this morning because of a chemical leak at the Shell Motiva refinery in Norco.

A 1-mile stretch of Airline between Prospect Avenue and Apple Street was shut down around 10:15 a.m. because of a propylene gas spill at the north end of the plant, according to a release from St. Charles Parish spokeswoman Renee Simpson.

Traffic on Airline was diverted to River Road while Refinery workers scrambled to contain and clean the spill. No other precautionary measures were taken The road re-opened just before noon.